Official Anonymizing

[Greg Broiles]

At 07:53 PM 9/4/2001 -0400, Declan McCullagh wrote:
>[...]
>2. Since the people enforcing this hypothetical law are the same people 
>with the greatest incentives to violate it, what makes a disinterested 
>observer believe that it will be effective? If we're not interested in 
>effectiveness, why don't we just pass a law saying "no more police 
>brutality" or "no cop shall violate someone's civil liberties?"

I think this goes a little too far (though I'm also pretty skeptical about 
the underlying proposal). True, it's very unlikely that cops will arrest 
themselves for violating a mandatory disclosure law - expecting any group 
to reliably self-police is unrealistic.

It would not be practically, impossible, to enforce such a provision the 
same way that parts of the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth amendments are - by 
making evidence which has been gathered illegally unavailable in court. 
That sanction isn't intended to be punitive - it just removes (some of) the 
motivation to engage in the forbidden activity.


--
Greg Broiles
gbroiles at well.com
"We have found and closed the thing you watch us with." -- New Delhi street kids