Planting Evidence

[Mike Ingle <MIKEINGLE@delphi.com>]

>Back to Dirmeyer, I asked him about the warrant.  He said what he did 
>is ordinary investigation practice, including sending people 
>unsolicited material and then picking it up under a warrant.  I asked 
>him if the Judge knew, and he assured me the Judge was fully aware 
>that the person getting a warrant for "Lance White's" correspondence 
>was also Lance White.  He also said the Judge was aware of the 2000aa 
>and ECPA issues, and that they were under orders not to look at 
>anything labeled email.  For some reason, this did not reassure me. 

This reminds me of a description in "LA Secret Police" of how the LAPD
used to avoid the requirement for a search warrant. A cop would go to a
payphone, call 911, and report a rape or assault in progress at the
location they wanted to search. The cops would go in, arrest everyone,
and ransack the place. Anything they found, they could use, claiming it
was out in the open and discovered incidentally.

Along with the common practice of piling on outrageous charges, such as
"conspiracy to ..." in addition to the actual charge, this allows the
police to circumvent most of the person's rights and force him or her to
plead guilty or risk a very unjust sentence.

When did sending someone illegal material and then raiding the place become
standard investigative practice? That used to be called "planting evidence".

--- Mike