Re: Export via FTP: who's to blame? Ask a court!

[sdw@lig.net (Stephen D. Williams)]

...
> This is a question that has never been answered by a court.
> 
> Personally I think that the Congress can't constitutionally set up a
> scheme that restricts US citizens from communicating with each other
...

> If some hardy soul wants to set up a nice clean situation, like Phil
> Karn did for the paper-vs-magnetic-media distinction, I'm sure we can
> find some more pro-bono (zero cost) lawyers who'll take the case for
> the fun and notoriety.  You don't have to break the law to get into
> court; Phil didn't, for example.  You make a situation where the law
> restricts you, then sue to have the restriction declared invalid.  And
> if you have ever been in court, it's a lot more fun being the
> Plaintiff than being the Defendant.
> 
> Doing this will take significant time on your part.  Even if the
> lawyers do 95% of the work, you have to talk with them, review what
> they write, explain the details in gory detail, and believe in what
> they're doing for you.  And sometimes do things in a way that they are
> sure is right, even though you yourself aren't sure.  And stick with
> the case even though it would drag on for years through several
> courts.  So it's not something to do lightly.  But it's worth it.  And
> it's a lot safer and easier to enforce your civil rights now, than to
> try to live through the civil war that would follow the slide into
> authoritarian government.
> 
> I'd do this case myself, except that I think we should have few single
> points of failure.  If we spread the work around, it's more likely to
> happen.  And your civil rights are safer, because you yourself have
> learned how to defend them.
> 
> 	John

I recently moved to the DC area (N VA) and might be amenable to a relatively
harmless scenario like this.  (Not that I have much time, but I'm flexible.)

sdw
-- 
Stephen D. Williams 25Feb1965 VW,OH (FBI ID) sdw@lig.net http://www.lig.net/sdw
Consultant, Vienna,VA Mar95- 703-918-1491W 43392 Wayside Cir.,Ashburn, VA 22011
OO/Unix/Comm/NN       ICBM/GPS: 39 02 37N, 77 29 16W home, 38 54 04N, 77 15 56W
Pres.:Concinnous Consulting,Inc.;SDW Systems;Local Internet Gateway Co.;28May95