-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- In <Pine.LNX.3.95.961221074912.234A-100000@batcave.intrex.net>, on 12/21/96 at 07:51 AM, The Deviant <deviant@pooh-corner.com> said: ::On Fri, 20 Dec 1996, Michael Tighe SUN IMP wrote: ::> John Gilmore writes: ::> ::> >After further consultations with the attorneys, we are not sure ::> >whether the decision has nationwide impact or whether it is limited ::> >to the Northern District of California (which includes SF and ::> >Silicon Valley). ::Your Mileage May Vary -- check with your lawyer. <attila:> and where does the average hacker find a reliable attorney in these matters? more likely you will find the usual charlatan mouthpiece who will give it a whirl, be body-traded out, and still take your money. and that is just what is so special about pro bono attorneys: they have their soul on the line; and, even better, when the horsepower has the folks at Baker & Hostetler behind them (even if their head office is in Cleveland --my mother remembered Hostetler when he helped his father deliver milk door to door in East Cleveland (in the 1910s!)) </attila> ::> ::> The decision itself says it only applies to Bernstein, and then only ::> for source code. ::> ::The fact that one judge says his ruling only applies to one person is ::irrelevant ; his decision can, and probably will, be used as precedent ::in other cases, which is the good that it really serves in the first ::place. More power to Mr. Bernstein and all, but in reality this case ::has almost nothing to do with him in particular. The real usefullness ::of this case is so that other judges can see that at least one judge ::believes that the law _can_ be wrong, even if only in specific cases. <attila> Absolutely! Given the concept I propounded a few days ago that each Federal District Judge is his own 'Judge Roy Bean, Law West of the Pecos," he still has reference to the decision; he can either use it as the basis of the decision in his court, or he can ignore. If the case has been to appeal and affirmed; and, Judge Roy is in the same appeals circuit, an adverse decision is not likely to stand. What's the point? PRECEDENCE! Bernstein (who hung on despite dealing with a mute point in his own case), the EFF, and all the <i> pro bono </i> attorneys who made the case successful are to be congratulated. We, if we love our freedom, owe all of the players a rather large debt of gratitude for blowing a hole in Fort Clinton. and, I will stand up and say "thank you!" any place I can. </attila> == Tyranny Insurance by Colt Manufacturing Co. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.3i Charset: latin1 Comment: Encrypted with 2.6.3i. Requires 2.6 or later. iQCVAwUBMrzUVr04kQrCC2kFAQHPsQQAwl4UWKtrUYhwF4GoPZTWZdYozRpgzr0N U20Mb4PmrgeeKzHfRV7CjJmbqsQX3AdM0ydn7KN8BcnKs5jhWqKQ+vPfjb/Vn56b 3woBhc6Lg0ERMpOPaBvRjpynsHzTjCarb24JEqP70UyEHvS2o7MBIZLbF2rsW9Xa txBdQz9+vIk= =09yf -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----