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US Wins Appeal In Battle To Extradite Kim Dotcom

Posted by Soulskill on from the be-our-guest-be-our-guest-be-our-guest dept.

Dr Max sends this excerpt from an AP report: "U.S. prosecutors won a New Zealand court victory Friday in their battle to extradite Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom and three colleagues accused of facilitating massive copyright fraud through the now-defunct online file-sharing site. The appeals court overturned an earlier ruling that would have allowed Dotcom and the others broad access to evidence in the case against them at the time of their extradition hearing, which is scheduled for August. The appeals court ruled that extensive disclosure would bog down the process and that a summary of the U.S. case would suffice. Dotcom says he's innocent and can't be held responsible for those who chose to use the site to illegally download songs or movies."

18 of 175 comments (clear)

  1. I wonder if New Zealand can do other tricks too by crazyjj · · Score: 5, Funny

    Good boy! Him roll over! Can you sit? Can you sit? Come on, boy...sit!

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    1. Re:I wonder if New Zealand can do other tricks too by Dunbal · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I can't wait for China to start pushing for the extradition of US citizens for breaking some of its more restrictive internet laws. I mean fair game, right?

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    2. Re:I wonder if New Zealand can do other tricks too by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The extradition is complete. Everything else is just a formality. The court just ruled that Dotcom isn't going to be able to use any real evidence to defend himself. Now New Zealand has to follow their treaty obligations and send him to a US kangaroo court where he will face 100,000 charges and a million year jail term (or 2 years in jail on a plea agreement). He's fucked. If I were him, I'd think about escaping to a country that doesn't have an extradition treaty with the US.

    3. Re:I wonder if New Zealand can do other tricks too by PolygamousRanchKid+ · · Score: 4, Insightful

      New Zealand has no other choice but to hand Dotcom over. If they don't . . . no more local economy boosting Hollywood films will be made in New Zealand.

      I really don't give a rat's ass if Dotcom is convicted or not. However, I find the way that this is being done a bit disturbing. No full access to the evidence against him? This sounds rather like a Soviet denunciation legal procedure.

      What do our "I am a Kiwi lawyer" readers have to say about the right of the accused to see the evidence against him in New Zealand? Maybe this is normal there, and nothing special they are doing to railroad Dotcom.

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    4. Re:I wonder if New Zealand can do other tricks too by mwvdlee · · Score: 5, Informative

      The only thing the US has won here, is a denial for Kim Dotcom to access all available evidence while he would still have an opportunity to affect that evidence.
      It has little to do with the actual extradition request itself.

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    5. Re:I wonder if New Zealand can do other tricks too by Chrisq · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It's only fair game when China has the might and firepower of the US, which it does not.

      So therefore the US tell others what to do and you will obey because otherwise we can own and destroy your ass. Case closed.

      USA.

      So when they do it will be fair?

    6. Re:I wonder if New Zealand can do other tricks too by serviscope_minor · · Score: 5, Insightful

      If they don't . . . no more local economy boosting Hollywood films will be made in New Zealand.

      I doubt that. The movie companies are always looking at the bottom line. New Zealand offers the right landscapes at the right price with first world infrastructure. If it was cheaper elsewhere they'd already be going elsewhere. I very much doubt they'd pay significantly more just to make this point.

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    7. Re:I wonder if New Zealand can do other tricks too by pscottdv · · Score: 5, Informative

      That's the dirty little secret about federal charges in the U.S. Federal court rules don't require the prosecution to hand over their evidence until the trial unlike state courts where the accused has a chance to see the evidence against him- or herself and prepare a defence. And the minimum penalties are always enormous.

      That's why federal charges are so highly feared in the U.S. and it's why almost all federal cases are pleaded out.

      http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21570742-how-mandatory-minimum-sentences-distort-plea-bargaining-thumb-scale

      The article is about a different issue, but it describes the problem.

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    8. Re:I wonder if New Zealand can do other tricks too by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 4, Informative

      Don't worry mandarin is not too hard to learn.

      As someone who has learned to speak Mandarin, I can say that this is not true. I have heard that it takes about 20 weeks of full time study for a native English speaker to be able to communicate in basic Spanish, but 80 weeks to reach the same level in Mandarin. I think this is about right. Mandarin is hard. The grammar is simple, but there are a lot of homophones and weird idioms, and worst of all is the tones. Young kids can learn them, but they are almost impossible for an adult whose brain has already congealed. After years of study, I can order in a restaurant and understand tech-talk, but I struggle with casual small talk, and I almost never understand the jokes.

  2. I love this... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    " Dotcom says he's innocent and can't be held responsible for those who chose to use the site to illegally download songs or movies.""

    Except, you know, the proof that you paid people for uploading them.

  3. Misleading Title by Nailer235 · · Score: 5, Informative

    The title - while literally true - implies that a court has decided that Kim Dotcom can now be extradited. In fact, the issue decided by the court was much more limited: it held that Kim only has limited access to evidence during the future extradition hearing. While this does make it more likely that he will be extradited, the issue has NOT been decided yet.

    1. Re:Misleading Title by rsborg · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Extradition does not decide guilt. It decides whether you are the person being sought to face charges in the other jurisdiction and whether the charges are extraditable to the other jurisdiction. Evidence of guilt is mostly irrelevant to those questions.

      Extradition and Secret Prisons (aka black sites) = Who cares if you're guilty? We'll throw you in our clink and spend a few years mulling over what we're going to charge you with (see Bradley Manning). All of this is highly unconstitutional, but hey, the world has changed since 9/11, and that's all you need to know.

      Dotcom's best hope now is to flee to another country that doesn't have an extradition treaty with the US.

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  4. In other news by Sparticus789 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    U.S. Prosecutors have arrested the executive boards of ATT, Verizon, Comcast, and many other ISPs for their customers using internet connections to illegally download songs and movies.

    BAZINGA!

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  5. Monster Cable Exec Too by Dareth · · Score: 4, Funny

    Don't forget to arrest the Monster Cable Exec too! Their cables allow people who bought movies and songs to enjoy them at a higher quality than their license permitted!

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  6. And the Steamroller begins by SoTerrified · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "May I please view the evidence against me so I might put up a proper defense?"
    "The appeals court ruled that disclosure would 'bog down the process' and that a summary of the U.S. case would suffice"

    If that line doesn't send chills up the spine of every person who believes in due process... Good luck getting a fair trial in the USA where the judge, prosecutor and all aspects of the legal system are under the control of the corporations. I suspect they won't be happy until Kim Dotcom winds up like Aaron Swartz.

    1. Re:And the Steamroller begins by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      This is slightly different. This is an extradition case, not the trial itself. It seems kind of redundant for the US to make it's case at the extradition hearing, and then also when they get him back to the United States for trial.

      The US has a warrant for his arrest and has provided enough of evidence to show that the warrant was issued in good faith. That should be all they need for an extradition hearing.

      Everyone acts like dotcom will be summarily executed once he steps foot on American soil. That's not true at all, he will be given a trial and that will be his time to argue his innocence.

    2. Re:And the Steamroller begins by Hatta · · Score: 5, Insightful

      This is an extradition case, not the trial itself. It seems kind of redundant for the US to make it's case at the extradition hearing, and then also when they get him back to the United States for trial.

      The US should not have to prove his guilt before extradition. But it should have to prove that it has a case. And Dotcom deserves a chance to refute that.

      US has a warrant for his arrest and has provided enough of evidence to show that the warrant was issued in good faith.

      What evidence is that that any of the US's actions in this case have been done in good faith?

      Everyone acts like dotcom will be summarily executed once he steps foot on American soil. That's not true at all, he will be given a trial and that will be his time to argue his innocence.

      He will be given a trial based on American laws, when he was a German citizen doing business in New Zealand. The idea that US law applies to him at all is simply unconscionable.

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  7. Looks like money changed hands by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    How could they possibly extradite Kim Dotcom considering all the illegal tactics the US did during it's "investigation" (defying New Zealand court orders, illegally smuggling evidence out of the country, etc.). The New Zealand courts should have realized from that behavior that he is not going to get a fair trial.

    This looks like yet another DOJ politically motivated prosecution.