6 ms·
The comparison is fairly skin deep: * mandatory minimum sentences * lopsided plea bargains (you can go to jail for anywhere between 18 months to 30 years, dep
by ihsw 13y ago
The comparison is fairly skin deep:
* mandatory minimum sentences
* lopsided plea bargains (you can go to jail for anywhere between 18 months to 30 years, depending on whether you take the bargain)
* prosecutors pushing for convictions as a means of adding to their professional scorecard
* rampant fear and paranoia (marijuana is a gateway drug! command line interfaces are scary!)
* using that fear and paranoia to pass draconian (and oftentimes ineffective) legislation via door-in-the-face argument -- propose something obviously ridiculous, and when it's rejected then you propose something that's still overreaching but not enough to cause outrage
* using the above-said legislation to funnel public funds to our congress-critters' friends
Beyond that, the two are essential incomparable.
- tptacek 13y agoWhich of those attributes doesn't apply to pretty much every other federal crime?
- ihsw 13y agoYeah, you're right. It's a bit of a shitty news article, but it's good at grabbing your attention.
- agwa 13y agoActually, the CFAA carries no mandatory minimum. The judge could, though it's unlikely, choose to completely ignore the sentencing guidelines (which are advisory) when sentencing for a CFAA offense. In contrast, many federal drug crimes have specific mandatory minimums which actually do tie the judge's hands when sentencing.[1] And all the other attributes are true of practically every federal crime, not just drug crimes. The premise of this article is pretty terrible. [1] List of federal crimes with mandatory minimums: http://famm.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Chart-All-Fed-MMs-NW.pdf http://famm.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Chart-All-Fed-MMs...
- dnautics 13y agoso, you mean the comparison is apt in all the points of contact where it's an issue of law. There are fewer hackers than there are drug users, so the impact of the trend is going to be limited; but the point is that the drug war culture is fueling an expansion of legal abuse by prosecutors in other domains. I think this is an important point; and the only problem with the article, is the title.