Scienter and all that stuff

[TOMJEFFERSON@delphi.com]

Re. "Scienter" and all that stuff.


Not being handicapped by a legal education, let me tell you how
I believe it really is:

The facts and the law only matter when the government doesn't have
a hard on for you.  If the government wants to get you [and, perhaps, 
if you're not a millionaire "sports figure"] it will get you. The 
crime bill just makes the task a bit easier.

Example 1:  Branch Davidians were sentenced to long prison terms for
possessing weapons during commission of a crime, even though they were 
acquitted of the crime they were accused of committing while being in
possession of the weapons.

Example 2:  The jury brought in the "wrong" verdict for the L.A. cops who
beat Rodney King, so the feds just stepped in and tried 'em again.  The 
constitutional prohibition against trying people twice for the same crime 
didn't bother the feds a bit.  I know, I know, they were convicted of 
"violating the civil rights of".   What's the difference?


Pardon me for my lack of respect for the system.  It went out the 
window when a bunch of drug cops broke into my 71 year old father's 
apartment by mistake and beat him unconscious for objecting.  Outside
of F. Lee Bailey's circle, cops and courts can basically do what they
want, ignore your protests, and *get away with it*.  The only 
difference between a "crip" and a cop is the color of the uniform.