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I agree with Lessig's view in that documentary that if he had waited through the court case, and especially asked for a jury trial, it would have been knocked d

I agree with Lessig's view in that documentary that if he had waited through the court case, and especially asked for a jury trial, it would have been knocked down to a smaller charge, probable conviction and no jail time. Judges and juries are checks on overly aggressive prosecutors. As hinted in the documentary Aaron may have had other issues weighing on him than just this court case. Not all hacking cases are equal and need to be judged on their own merits. Sometimes there could be much more serious economic harms or intentions than this case.

ouchy 12y ago
I haven't seen the documentary, so I hadn't heard that. Thanks. I think Lessig's exactly right.
shit_parade 12y ago
Very few cases see a jury these days. The typical tactic for a prosecutor is to pile up charges until the defendant is facing many, many, many years of jail time then once the consequences of going to trial is made abundantly clear to the defendant, i.e. your entire life could be thrown down into a dark hole and never again will you see daylight again as a free person, the prosecutor will then dangle a plea bargain of only a 'few years' on 'lesser' charges. It's not difficult to understand why there are now so few jury trials. Add in the fact that bail can be denied or expensive, that jury trials can drag on for years in appeals, that being seen as adversarial often puts you in a bad light if/when you are sentenced, or that judges can at times utterly disregard the jury, the entire 'legal' process as it is practiced today serves no one justly and is built solely to empower the government and the powerful at the expense of all others.
awch 12y ago
Agreed, but the author notes that "...after the plea-bargaining blew apart on January 11, 2013, Aaron's family was close to a million dollars in debt. He could not afford a trial." The disparity was financial- the bottomless pockets of the federal government vs. the finite resources of an individual (and donations from supporters). It's as if there's a need for a "CFAA legal defense" insurance policy that activists/security researchers could purchase to finance vigorous challenges to these statutes in the event of overzealous prosecution.
- programmarchy 12y ago
  Shield Mutual: http://shieldmutual.com http://shieldmutual.com
- wolfgke 12y ago
  Why don't you lobby for introducing "court grants of legal aid" (in German: Prozesskostenhilfe).

ouchy 12y ago

I haven't seen the documentary, so I hadn't heard that. Thanks. I think Lessig's exactly right.

shit_parade 12y ago

Very few cases see a jury these days. The typical tactic for a prosecutor is to pile up charges until the defendant is facing many, many, many years of jail time then once the consequences of going to trial is made abundantly clear to the defendant, i.e. your entire life could be thrown down into a dark hole and never again will you see daylight again as a free person, the prosecutor will then dangle a plea bargain of only a 'few years' on 'lesser' charges. It's not difficult to understand why there are now so few jury trials. Add in the fact that bail can be denied or expensive, that jury trials can drag on for years in appeals, that being seen as adversarial often puts you in a bad light if/when you are sentenced, or that judges can at times utterly disregard the jury, the entire 'legal' process as it is practiced today serves no one justly and is built solely to empower the government and the powerful at the expense of all others.

awch 12y ago

Agreed, but the author notes that "...after the plea-bargaining blew apart on January 11, 2013, Aaron's family was close to a million dollars in debt. He could not afford a trial." The disparity was financial- the bottomless pockets of the federal government vs. the finite resources of an individual (and donations from supporters). It's as if there's a need for a "CFAA legal defense" insurance policy that activists/security researchers could purchase to finance vigorous challenges to these statutes in the event of overzealous prosecution.

programmarchy 12y ago
Shield Mutual: http://shieldmutual.com http://shieldmutual.com
wolfgke 12y ago
Why don't you lobby for introducing "court grants of legal aid" (in German: Prozesskostenhilfe).