At 01:23 AM 8/2/03 -0700, Eric Cordian wrote:

OK - Here's a really dumb decision which shows how willing the courts are to shred the Constitution. Just to make sure that Puritans don't have to worry that someone, somewhere, is looking at a picture of someone under

18, and touching themselves improperly.

http://news.com.com/2100-1029_3-5058835.html

Apparently, criminals can break into your home, and look for evidence of illegal activity and thoughtcrime, and if they find it or even plant it

themselves, they can give it to the police, not be prosecuted for breaking in, and it can be used as evidence against you. No problem with obtaining those pesky search warrants from the handy rotary tear-off dispenser in

the Judge's chambers any more. No indeed.

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Judges OK evidence from hacker vigilante By Lisa M. Bowman Staff Writer, CNET News.com August 1, 2003, 10:22 AM PT

[Comments in [] are mine. -emc]

A federal appeals panel ruled this week that the government did not violate search and seizure laws when it used evidence that a hacker gathered to establish a child pornography case.

Interesting, because in Calif some hacker-discovered kiddy prawns were tossed out on 4th violations. Perhaps this will go to higher courts. Evidence Barred in Ex-O.C. Judge's Child-Porn Case Writings and photos were illegally obtained from Ronald Kline's computer, court rules. By Christine Hanley, Times Staff Writer A federal judge on Tuesday threw out most of the key evidence in a high-profile child pornography case against a former Orange County judge, ruling that sexually explicit diary entries and photos were discovered after illegal computer searches by a Canadian hacker who was working for police. The ruling could undermine much of the case against Ronald C. Kline, whose arrest drew national attention and ultimately resulted in the judge dropping his bid for reelection. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-kline18jun18120422,1,5845207.story --- "To the electron -- may it never be of any use to anybody." -- JJ. Thomson's favorite toast