Slashdot Mirror
Police Arrest Teen for "Obscene" Web Site
Ristuccia continues:
"(a) whether "the average person, applying contemporary community standards" would find that the work, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest, Kois v. Wisconsin, supra, at 230, quoting Roth v. United States, supra, at 489;
"(b) whether the work depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by the applicable state law; and
"(c) whether the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.
"Note that test (c) is very hard to pass. Even nudie magazines like Playboy are not considered obscene because they have at least some (however miniscule) literary, artistic, political, or scientific value. Political speech, including speech critical of police or government officials, is protected in the highest degree.
"I did a little digging with Google, but I couldn't find any of the web pages described in the AP article. The actual web site of the Salem Police Benevolent Association, one of the sites Hemmah is accused of parodying, is at http://www.salempolice.org."
In the wake of Columbine and the anti-geek teen backlash that followed, Slashdot rose to a high level of journalistic integrity by carrying the story the regular media would not.
Many of the posts in this thread are detailed, technical arguments of the type we are good at. But we're arguing with ourselves. A discussion at an online site about whether the Salem police's actions are legal is not helping a 19 year old who's just scored a black mark on his permanent legal record, lost his personal property, and possibly facing jail time (not to mention being pissed off and scared out of his mind, probably).
It's time to do something about the way our constitutional rights are ignored because of the public's fears of "hackers."
I talked to Chris Hemmah's family tonight. They aren't sure how we can help yet, but when they are ready for it, let's be there for them. It takes initiative and it's scary to stand up for what we believe in... but somebody's got to make sure that Chris Hemmah's rights are respected in what will come. His family will need moral support, donations to a legal fund, advice, and possibly court witnesses.
If you are willing to help ensure that the laws of the United States are respected in this case, e-mail me at morgan@druids.org with Chris Hemmah in the subject line. I'll continue to talk to the family and e-mail out when they have decided how we can help. I will not give your e-mail address to anyone else, I won't spam you, etc. I'm not a lawyer or a cop, and I'm not related to the Hemmahs or involved in the case. I'm just a nerd who's had enough... and I hope you are too.
-magic
Please, stop pretending to be lawyers on slashdot. Slashdot barely has any journalistic credibility in the wake of that hooters link that got on the front page yesterday.
/. was up for a Pulitzer.
Yeah, up until then
What about "News for nerds, stuff that matters"?
Which of these categories doesn't Hooters fit under?
Every cop who took part in this bust, and everyone in the chain of command should do time for "conspiracy to deprive of a constitutional right, under color of authority."
That's good for ten years in Leavenworth.
I'm not sure if this is more or less disturbing than those idiot who suspended a girl for using witchcraft against one of her teachers a few months back.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
Here it is.
Of course, police love to do things like this to people they know won't be convicted because the police know that his equipment will be seized. He will likely never see any of his 7 computers or "hacking books" ever again no matter what happens because it will be filed as evidence.
The Salem PD apparently has something of a known history of questionable search and seizure while squeaking out of the consequences, too. See this excerpt from an Eagle-Tribune article back in October:
Then what is he charged with?
Yes, the charge reads misuse of computer system information. But what information? How did he illegally misuse it? The only clue given is that the Salem police said he created "several obscene Web sites that mocked the Salem police department" (quoting the AP's paraphrase, not the Salem police directly.)
Admittedly, we cannot assume that the AP reported this story perfectly; it is possible that they left out vital information such as that he cracked the police department's computers and stole information.
But we must not assume that the Salem police must have had some real justification for arresting him, simply because they did it. Why?? Because that's exactly what police departments everywhere are prone to believing, that they as professionals know who the law-abiders are and who the criminals are -- and that to arrest an 'obvious' wrong-doer like this kid, they shouldn't have to wait for a technicality such as him actually committing an arrestable offense.
Don't think, in a nation where police officers regularly perjure themselves in court to make charges stick, in a nation where police scientists falsify lab tests, reporting impossible results from the lab to win court cases, don't think that a police department must have evidence of actual illegal computer activity when all they're showing that they have is a disliked use of the First Amendment.
If people are to respect the law, perhaps the law should begin by respecting the people.
Vintage computer games and RPG books available. Email me if you're interested.
A fuller report was in the Eagle-Tribune (Lawrence, Mass.), on Friday, January 12, 2001. Go to http://www.eagletribune.com and do News Search for "Hemmah"--it was under "NH News." For your convenience, it is quoted below:
Also, here is the earlier, Dec. 6, 2000 article referred to above:
These two articles from CBC have more information This one
And here
"Actually, they can only legally keep the equipment if he they deem the equipment was used to commit a felony"
Which they won't be able to in this case. Their "felony" charge is the most laughably stupid charge I've ever seen. In fact, he can't even be convicted of a misdemeanor.
BTW, in NH, does someone have to be indicted to be charged with a felony? That is the case in many states. I dont see that happening. In fact, I don't even see a court ACCEPTING this case at all unless:
1. The judge is extremely corrupt or stupid.
2. The judge is extremely power mad.
3. The judge is an ex-cop
4. The judge takes the case basically so that he can get the police in question in his courtroom, collect the evidence, sanction them so that THEY can be prosecuted.
=== The price of freedom is eternal vigilance
What the hell IS this? The police have no authority to define obscenity.. There is no possible way a website mocking them could pass the Supreme Court's obscenity standard.
For one thing, mocking the police department is POLITICAL speech, which will clearly fall under the first amendment.
What is chilling, is what others have brought up. The damage to this person has already been done, having already been arrested and thrown in jail. What I hope happens is that he gets himself a tank of lawyer sharks and go after the police department with lawsuits asking for damages in the $500 million range.
The police department has clearly abused it's authority to comitt an illegal act. All involved in the arrest and incarceration need to do serious prison time.
=== The price of freedom is eternal vigilance
Yes there are. In this case it's in the Constitution itself. A police department is a government agency, and thus, the right of petition, and the first amendment, just to name two, clearly cover this.
Because such a parody is POLITICAL speech, there isn't even any way that he could have libeled or slandered them. There is no truth in advertising laws for political speech, otherwise lots of candidates would be doing prison time.
A crime and major felonies have been comitted here... by the POLICE.
=== The price of freedom is eternal vigilance
"He is charged with misuse of computer system information, a felony." How is making a website misuse of computer systems information? I might be able to understand this if he was using this information to do something illegal. So, he has some mock website up with some porn scattered around. I don't think this case will get very far. Just my 2 cents.
Note: "SS" in the above stands for "Secret Service". Any similarity between that abbreviation and the Nazi stormtrooper service's abbreviation is intentional.
In general, if the cops seize your computers, assume that you're going to need a new computer. I suggest purchasing a lightweight laptop (AFTER the SS seizes your computers -- otherwise they might come after you for "concealing evidence"). I also suggest that you retain off-site backups, perhaps with co-workers that the cops won't think of immediately as friends, perhaps in some other semi-anonymous fashion, so that you won't lose 20 years of your writings just because some Nazi stormtrooper wannabe with a police uniform got peeved that you called him by name.
-E
Send mail here if you want to reach me.
I know this situation ALL too well. This could have happened to me.
..
I have recently encountered a similar situation with my local school district (which I am not a student at).
My local school districts website address is "school-district".org. In late October I registered "school-district".com and "School-district".net.
I setup both sites to forward to page I had setup where I had a parody of a fundraiser they were currently running. Everyone who saw it thought it thought it was funny. You'd have to be an idiot to mistake it for the real website.
The result? Near Christmas I received a cease and desist letter demanding I take down my "libelous and unfounded attacks" against the district .
"If you do not cease and desist your activities within ten (10) days of the date of this letter, the District will pursue any and all legal remedies available to my client in a Court of competent jurisdiction for injuctive relief as well as money damages."
Money damages. Yeah what money damages? It's a FUNDRAISER in question. What, of the 76 unique visitors my page had I damaged your fundraising ability? What the hell?!
"You are in violation of both [my state] and Federal law; including but not limited to the anticybersquatting provisions of the Lanham Act and [my states] Unfair Trade Practices Act."
Pretty amazing how I can be guilty of cybersquatting when I never tried to sell the domain, never represented myself as them and for the past oh what.. FIVE YEARS they never had enough brains to register it themselves. Aren't such laws designed to protect the rights of corporations being taken advantage of my domain speculators?
I'm also apparently guilty of the PA Trade Act. How can I be guilty of a trade act when there's no TRADE INVOLVED?! Once again, I can't figure it out
They also had a "proposal" that I transfer the domain name to them "in exchange for the District's forberance in bringing any claims against you."
Having no other choice then well, get sued, I took down the content and notified them I did that. The domain name however, I have kept, and said nothing about it to them.
Individuals can't afford to throw money at a lawyer to fight against the bottomless pockets of orginizations and corporations hellbent on destroying our freedom.
Freedom of speech is slowly dying as rabid packs of lawyers and policemen attack our first amendment rights of fair use and parody. I am disgusted at the actions my local district took, and I am disgusted at the police in that case.
When I was in 6th grade (about 15 years ago), for Halloween everyone in class was to write a "scary story" with illustrations, and some of us would read those stories out loud to either a 1st or 2nd grade class on Halloween. Our teacher, apparently not quite expecting the average student's exposure to horror movies of the day, told us to write anything we wanted, no matter how bad it was.
Well, we did. She was not amused. Half the class (mostly the male students) had written stories revolving around axe murderers and the like, complete with gory descriptions. We never got around to the illustrations.....
Anyways. Guess what the consequences of writing these horrific stories were?
*shocker* We were told to rewrite them and leave out the excessive gore. */shocker* Nobody got in trouble. Nobody went to jail. Nobody was sent in for psychiatric evaluation. We just had to redo the assignment. The stories were recognized for what they were. Harmless creative works in poor taste, not setting the stage for a group of lunatics.
All of this was pre-columbine however. We had bullies, cheating, bad grades, talking in class, and the occasional indescretion among some of the students. Every once in a while, some reckless and heartless bastard would throw pencils into the ceiling tiles. But nobody even fathomed the idea that someone might bring a gun to school and start shooting at random because he was distressed. Now everyone is overreacting and jumping on any even potential danger and eliminating them. Its unfortunate, and it has to change. SOON.
Its stuff like this that makes me want to be a parent, just so I can participate in the educational system and tell some those idiots to get their head out of their ass. Of course, I could just social engineer my way to become a school administrator and accomplish the same goals. Judging from what I've seen, I probably exceed the qualifications for the job.
-Restil
Play with my webcams and lights here
Here is what he was actualy charged with:
IV. A person is guilty of the computer crime of misuse of computer system information when:
(a) As a result of his accessing or causing to be accessed a computer system, he knowingly makes or causes to be made an unauthorized display, use, disclosure, or copy, in any form, of data residing in, communicated by, or produced by a computer system; or
(b) He knowingly or recklessly and without authorization:
(1) Alters, deletes, tampers with, damages, destroys, or takes data intended for use by a computer system, whether residing within or external to a computer system; or
(2) Intercepts or adds to data residing within a computer system; or
(c) He knowingly receives or retains data obtained in violation of subparagraph (a) or (b) of this paragraph; or
(d) He knowingly uses or discloses any data he knows or believes was obtained in violation of subparagraph (a) or (b) of this paragraph.
-------------
is it possible his downloading code from the website was making an unauthorized copy? If so people should be really concerned about copyright, fair use, etc.
Unless he is slandering the police, posting false information that he claims is true that damages the image of the police he will not be convicted of any crime (if he does I'm moving).
ianal, but afaik, slander is not a crime. It is a tort, meaning that it can be used as the basis for a civil suit. That is assuming he is slandering an individual. If he is accused of slandering an organization or institution, especially a government body, I don't even know if it can be litigated at all, at least in the US the First Amendment generally protects anything that might normally be considered slander if it was said against a private citizen. The exception would be advocating violence, which can reach a level that can be prosecuted criminally.
Work for Change & GET PAID!
I don't know about you all, but I might just have some spare web space to post my own "obscene" website about said police department.
Just a thought.
And I don't live within the confines of their little juristiction... tee hee hee
The US Supreme Court has ruled that parody is exempt from copyright infringement. See Eldred v. Reno
"They must be getting bored in Salem, with all those witches extinct now...."
Especially since those witches were tried and burned in Salem, Massachusetts--not Salem, New Hampshire.
(Yeesh.)
Okay. The cops in Salem, New Hampshire--after a month-long investigation--determined that this kid had copied the text from several web sites related to the police department, modified the text, and had replaced photos on one site with rotating porn pictures.
This is clear, and compelling, proof of two things:
But something stuck in my mind about "police" and "New Hampshire"...
Of course! The ultra-Libertarian legislator who got elected in November, before anybody noticed the outrageous comments he'd posted on the Web about cops. I looked up the article, figuring I'd post a link to it here. Here's the MSNBC article. But the article includes a neat little point right at the bottom--it turns out that the cop-killer wannabe isn't the only state legislator in trouble. It seems that while the Salem cops were busy with their month-long investigation of a parody web site ("Uh, sarge--how do you spell 'freedom of the press'?"), the town elected an ex-con living under an assumed name to be their legislator:
In a separate case, state Rep. Ron "Tony" Giordano has revealed a criminal past he didn't disclose to New Hampshire voters. The Republican from Salem said this week that he did two stints in jail in Massachusetts during the early 1980s for five check-forging convictions and one handcuff-stealing incident. He was known as Ron Gordon at the time.
"We all make mistakes. I've turned my life around," Giordano said.
Giordano, who moved to Salem six years ago after changing his name, said he would step down only if his 6,000 constituents demanded he quit.
Whatever parody this kid put up had better be hilarious--because the officials clowns are pretty funny all by themselves....
Christopher Hemmah, 19, was arrested Thursday night after a month-long investigation.""
....
From the logs of the Salem Police:
Day 1 - Website making fun of us still up.
Day 2 - Website making fun of us still up.
Day 28 - Website making fun of us still up.
Day 29 - Website making fun of us still up.
Day 30 - Arrested Christopher Hemmah.
I would like to help.
But, with the information available to us at this time, I can't stick my neck out on this guy's behalf.
IF everything is as it APPEARS to be then yes, this is an unjust bust, and the guy should sue the pants off everyone involved. It would be wonderful to see. And my gut says that there's nothing fishy going on here.
But the fact is, dear slashdotters, that we can't be sure we know the REAL story. For example, maybe the porno images the kid used were the vilest, most stomach-churning kind. Any of you willing to mirror that? Any of you guys SURE that his site would fail an obscenity test?
I think we should support the guy, but be cautious about your approach until all the facts are in. When the facts ARE in, if things stack up, I'll contribute to his legal fun myself, and I encourage you to also.
Go here
Many thanks to slashdot user Procyon101 for this link I found buried in some replys to an earlier thread. Just thought I'd post it with a +2 initial score.
Friends don't let friends use multiple inheritance.
This of course, is possible, as there are many Judge Kaplans out there
/.
/. - tommorow the WORLD!)
:)
Hey, that's a neat (if tired) way to protest - try to start using "JudgeKaplin" as a verb (to mean "to misjudge / to prejudice / to sell one's values, etc") and see if we can get it to catch on in
(Today
Or perhaps just "Kaplin" for short.
"I see the Salem Police JudgeKaplined free speech today"
Ok ok, but it could make for some nice in-jokes
RE: I'm embarrassed that this is happening is Canada
Why? Canada does not have free speech, it hates nonconformists, and as for bullying and kicking the unpopular, it's part of the political landscape as much as it is the classroom.
Read the newspaper, or watch the National with Peter "I'm in the employ of King Jean" Mansbridge. Gun owners are responsible for crime, not criminals. Westerners are evil, holocaust-denying hicks and racist homophobic rednecks. According to Westerners, it's all the fault of the Quebecois, and the welfare leeches in the Atlantic provinces. The Quebecois think they're being held down by the "g*ddamn*d J*ws in West Montreal", unquote (not my view!), don't forget Parizeau's comments on live TV about "thanks to the J*ws and Ethn*cs for screwing up the referendum on soverignty for the REAL people of Quebec". (I was horrified to hear any of this, and I left Quebec over the last statement, never to return.)
Canada's just signed laws that allow the cops to come into your house without a warrant, strip the drywall off your interior walls, destroy your home, take away your right to remain silent, charge you with a reverse-onus crime (you have to prove your innocence) etc etc etc just because they might have some cause to believe that perhaps you might have access to a firearm.
I never believed the propaganda of that little socialist collective that it was a Disney-esque scene from Bambi where evreryone is loving and friendly and whistles that irritating song on the way to work when I was born and raised there, and I don't believe it now.
Canada's got REAL problems, don't be surprised at the kid going to jail over threatening his school. The Prime Minister can strangle you on live TV and smash your face into the ground, or send SWAT teams in to pepper spray your teenage daughter and club her half to death just because she was peacefully demonstrating against a murdering socialist dictator coming in from Indonesia, and noone says "boo" about it. They can rob you of half your income for "health care" while simultaneously taking all the money out of health care to fund hotels in the P.M.'s riding. You can mod this one down for all I care, but it's the truth and must be told. Canada is slowly becoming more and more of a police state, and now they want to confiscate all the guns to make that a total reality. Don't protest the symptoms, protest the cause.
--- Jump!! Fire!! Bullet time!! - Lego version of the Matrix
In Hemmah's home, police say they found seven computers and how-to books on computer hacking.
I have lots of computers and hacking books, am I breaking the law? Unless he is slandering the police, posting false information that he claims is true that damages the image of the police he will not be convicted of any crime (if he does I'm moving). You can't go around calling saying the local police kill small children (unless of course they do). If he posts information of reasons he dislikes the police, then thats what the 1st ammendment is all about and he shouldn't be touched.
Of course, police love to do things like this to people they know won't be convicted because the police know that his equipment will be seized. He will likely never see any of his 7 computers or "hacking books" ever again no matter what happens because it will be filed as evidence. Read "the hacker crackdown". Of course, that book would be "evidence" if you are ever raided.
...a Ottawa-area 16-year-old got bail after spending a month in the can for reading a story in drama class. I shit you not.
On the one hand, it was a story about a student who blows up his school after years of abuse from bullies and ignorance from teachers. On the other hand, it was written for a drama assignment after years of abuse from bullies and ignorance from teachers, including an incident about a week before where he was pushed to the ground, kicked in the head several times, and went home bloody. His parents contacted the school and police about the incident, but got no help. No schools or students were directly named in the story. Despite a police search of the school and his home finding no weapons, bombs, or "plans", he was arrested anyway on the charge of "uttering death threats".
More details in these Ottawa Citizen stories:
A teen's "Twisted" cry for help - this article also has the story that started it all.
Writer jailed for his 'imagination'
Prominent lawyer to defend teen writer
Someday, you're going to die. Get over it.
He is charged with misuse of computer system information, a felony.
As IANAL, I won't comment on whether or not the charge will stick.
Note that test (c) is very hard to pass. Even nudie magazines like Playboy are not considered obscene because they have at least some (however miniscule) literary, artistic, political, or scientific value. Political speech, including speech critical of police or government officials, is protected in the highest degree.
Wrong. Wrong wrong wrong. The standard is not "lacks any [adjective] value"; it's whether it lacks serious value. There's an enormous difference. Remember, Miller was a decision by the Burger court during the seventies. Do you really think they'd let you get away with anything as long as it had any value whatsoever? Miller was specifically decided so as to avoid the situation where a work of complete filth could be saved by inserting a single page of Shakespeare.
Miller was a compromise that ended a decade of legal wrangling over the subject of obscenity. It affirmed that legal obscenity must be sexual in nature (which this website likely is) and must violate community standards of propriety. Playboy isn't relevant, because playboy is a national magazine which may or may not violate community norms in New Hampshire.
(Incidentally, in R.A.V. v. Saint Paul, White's concurring opinion would have given governments plenary power over what sorts of obscene speech to declare illegal (instead of our present broad bans). Thankfully, that opinion wasn't signed by four other justices. Unfortunately, it won't help you here, since the obscenity ban in question bans far more than just political obscenity.)
Please, stop pretending to be lawyers on slashdot. Slashdot barely has any journalistic credibility in the wake of that hooters link that got on the front page yesterday. Don't undermine it even more by giving people false and misleading legal advice. In many jurisdictions, giving false legal advice is itself a crime. If you must wallow in your own ignorance, then don't drag others into the morass with you. Please.
Read the rest of this comment...