From: "S. M. Halloran" <mitch@duzen.com.tr>
Date: Thu, 2 Oct 1997 14:47:27 +0800
To: cypherpunks@cyberpass.net
Subject: Re: Mr. Policeman is Your Friend
In-Reply-To: <9710012220.AA05578@sabel.idacom.hp.com>
Message-ID: <199710020639.IAA23181@ankara.duzen.com.tr>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



Tim May <tcmay@got.net> wrote on  1 Oct 97:

> At 3:20 PM -0700 10/1/97, Martin Janzen wrote:
> >Electronic Frontier Canada's David Jones (djones@insight.dcss.McMaster.CA)
> >posted the following to the EFC mailing list:
> 
> >2. If cops can read E-mail, so can the bad guys
> >      http://www.efc.ca/pages/media/gazette.24sep97.html
> 
[much interesting exposition on the police as servants of government 
deleted]

I have a question:  has any jurisdiction (local, state, federal) in 
the U.S. resolved the hyprocrisy--maybe better to phrase "double 
standard"--wherein citizens who commit crimes against persons who 
perform duties under the color and badge of authority--namely the 
police--are charged with additional offenses specific for crimes 
against govt officers--but govt officers who commit crimes against 
citizens while in the performance of duties under the color and badge 
of authority would suffer the same penalty as citizens who commit 
crimes against "just" citizens?  (hope you can follow that perhaps 
awkward question)

It is my opinion that if I am charged with felony assault on a police 
officer, and the judge gives me 2 years for the assault + 1 year for 
doing it to an officer, that if that cop gets rough with me beyond 
what is legally necessary (excessive force?) or does it in the 
commission of other crimes and does so having informed others that 
the officer is performing his duties (this resolves disputes between 
the concept of "on-duty" and "off-duty"), then he should get 2 years 
for the crime + 1 year for having violated the public trust vested in 
him (i.e., doing while "under the color and badge of authority").  I 
don't know why I think this way, but it's a concept I call FAIRNESS 
or maybe JUSTICE.


Mitch Halloran
Research Biochemist/C programmer/Sequioa's (dob 12-20-95) daddy
Duzen Laboratories Group
mitch@duzen.com.tr