From: jim bell <jimbell@pacifier.com>
Date: Sat, 13 Apr 1996 18:14:07 +0800
To: "E. ALLEN SMITH" <EALLENSMITH@ocelot.Rutgers.EDU>
Subject: Re: "Contempt" charges likely to increase
Message-ID: <m0u7wxs-00090cC@pacifier.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


At 07:37 PM 4/12/96 EDT, E. ALLEN SMITH wrote:
>From:	IN%"jimbell@pacifier.com"  "jim bell"  7-APR-1996 03:10:38.36

>>I think that most crimes that subpoenas  would normally be used for are 
>>probably not crimes at all, and are probably "malum prohibitum," not "malum 
>>in se" crimes. And in the future, they would likely be used to harass 
>>political enemies, as harassment was done in the 1950's and 60's.   This 
>>means, for anybody of a libertarian bent, that it would actually be better 
>>if the government could be rendered incapable of enforcing them.  Naturally, 
>>governments and courts will resist, but that will be irrelevant.
>
>	I would guess that most instances of violations of banking secrecy,
>wiretaps, et al fall into this category also.


True, I think.  For example, 10-20 years from now there will probably be no 
need anymore for laws against wiretaps, because crypto telephones will 
become so cheap and ubiquitous that it will be assumed that anybody saying 
anything "valuable" on the phone will be using good crypto.  If that's the 
case, nobody will even bother doing wiretaps, and nobody will ever lose 
anything as a consequence of being tapped.  There's no point in having a law 
against a crime that never occurs.

Likewise, "banking secrecy" will become a contractural obligation:  Nobody 
who isn't privy to this information will be able to retrieve it.  

Looked at in this light, laws against victimless crimes can be seen as a 
last, desperate attempt by government to replace the real crimes which are 
"lost" to technological developments with placeholders; things the cops can 
do when nobody needs them.

I think it would be reasonable to present so-called "law enforcement" with 
an ultimatum:  "Make yourself obsolete within 10 years or we do it for you." 
 In other words, choose only those crimes which have real victims, and 
figure out technological ways to either prevent them entirely, or solve then 
once committed.

Jim Bell
jimbell@pacifier.com