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Ross Ulbricht's Lawyer Requests Suppression Of Silk Road Evidence
Despite a failed attempt to have charges dismissed, the alleged Silk Road operator Ross Ulbricht's lawyer has filed a new motion to have evidence dismissed, citing recent court rulings in an argument that the Silk Road related searches were overly broad. From the article:
Dratel [Ulbricht's lawyer] argues in his 102-page motion filed last Friday that "the government conducted a series of 14 searches and seizures of various physical devices containing electronically stored information ('ESI'), and of ESI itself from Internet providers and other sources. Some of the ESI was obtained via search warrant, but other ESI was obtained via court order, and still other ESI was obtained without benefit of any warrant at all." ...
The defense lawyer argues that even the searches for which the government had a warrant were overbroad and based on evidence that may have been obtained illegally. The attorney writes: " As set forth ante, all of the searches and seizures conducted pursuant to warrants and/or orders were based on the initial ability of the government to locate the Silk Road Servers, obtain the ESI on them, and perform extensive forensic analysis of that ESI. Thus, all subsequent searches and seizures are invalid if that initial locating the Silk Road Servers, obtaining their ESI, and gaining real-time continued access to those servers, was accomplished unlawfully."
The defense lawyer argues that even the searches for which the government had a warrant were overbroad and based on evidence that may have been obtained illegally. The attorney writes: " As set forth ante, all of the searches and seizures conducted pursuant to warrants and/or orders were based on the initial ability of the government to locate the Silk Road Servers, obtain the ESI on them, and perform extensive forensic analysis of that ESI. Thus, all subsequent searches and seizures are invalid if that initial locating the Silk Road Servers, obtaining their ESI, and gaining real-time continued access to those servers, was accomplished unlawfully."
Now watch my hands. Are you watching my hands? Good. Now, Presto!
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
We all know his lawyer has the burden to basically try anything and everything between now and (possible) sentencing to get the client off or reduced penalty. The system is adversarial on purpose. What will be interesting to some of us is to see if there was anything used here to find him that is really pushing the limits right. I mean the official story I hear is that he was found with old fashion leg work more than anything else. I am interested to know how true that might be. I think a lot of us are worried some of that mega NSA power is being serendipitously shared with law enforcement, and then they cover it up. We have some reason to think that is and has happened.
Peace, or Not?
Reasonable tenet for legal admissibility of evidence? Absolutely.
Prosecutors and law enforcement personnel should have to operate within the law in order to exercise its enforcement.
Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.
Ernest Hemingway
Something sounds fishy, at least according to the defense the government didn't provide the evidence suggesting how they knew of the the location of the servers being used to commit illegal acts. It could be another case of "Parallel Construction" which may involve illegal interception of mail and communications without a court order. It almost sounds like they just went to a Judge with no evidence just "their word" that they knew something illegal was going at this location and the judge just rubber stamped it. If true that would be like going to a judge for a warrant to search a home of a suspected drug dealer and their only justification was they had "informed sources" (that wouldn't give their name and couldn't list specific offenses) saying something illegal was going on there.
That's an understatement. They're trying to charge the guy with "Continuing Criminal Enterprise", a charge reserved for gangsters who continue to run their gang from inside prison. How did Ulbricht keep making changes to Silk Road after being imprisoned? It's rather hard to do something electronic when you have no access to electronics because you're in jail.
Buck Feta. You know what to do.
Theories like "the IRS won't tax it because it's law".
Or it's hearsay and ignoring the 27 some exceptions to the hearsay rules?
Even this story already borders on getting it wrong. "Fruit of the poisonous tree" can be gotten around by if you can demonstrate that the same evidence would inevitably have been obtained by legal means that they were undertaking.
Sorry I meant "the IRS won't tax it because it's not currency".
If a court did throw out all the evidence, and as a result they had to return all the Sold Bitcoin?
Donte Alistair Anderson Roberts - hi son!
Karma: Chameleon
In a homicide investigation, it really helps if you actually have a dead body with which to continue working with. What the defense here is saying effectively, "you haven't found the body, have you? So where is your case then? And certainly, what exactly are the legal merits of your case based upon the legal evidence available, so you claim?"
You can't be ahead of the curve, if you're stuck in a loop.
CCE has nothing to do with being in prison. The requirements for conviction under Continuing Criminal Enterprise are that the defendant:
Managed or supervised
a series of
felony
drug offenses
involving at least four other people.
That actually sounds a LOT like "running a drug market", which about right.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki...
Actually, in fairness, I don't believe Silk Road did allow this.
More what he is accused of is trying to hire a hitman after being blackmailed, threatening both him and his customers.
Although, from the looks of things, what he really did was get scammed by a blackmailer and a fake hitman.
I find it hard to be so black and white about a situation where threats are actually potentially putting lives on the line, its not like he had other recourse. The blackmailer was a former conspirator of his....honestly.... I have trouble applying normal morality to such a case..... a person entering into illegal business who then attempts to blackmail his former boss knows what he is getting into.... for his former boss to then kill him I don't put quite as much moral weight on as if it was pretty much anyone else in just about any other situation.
I almost put it more in the category of a boxer who kills his opponent in the ring. They both knew what they were getting into, what the stakes were. If a child walks up to a bear and gets mauled it is a tragedy. If a man walks into the path of a bear he didn't see, it is likewise. If a full grown adult tosses food around his own campsite to attrack the bears because he wants to see one, then punches it in the face..... maybe on some level its tragic but, its not nearly as tragic.
"I opened my eyes, and everything went dark again"
You gotta give the guy credit. He's taking every possible spin he can to get his guilty client off.
I do not fail; I succeed at finding out what does not work.
Rights do not exist for unassuming grandmothers. They exist for dirtbags as well.
"If the First Amendment will protect a scumbag like me, then it will protect all of you. Because I'm the worst." -Larry Flynt
Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
Makes sense, your illegitimate state is taking every possible spin to imprison Ulbricht for an unjust law.
Sure... I just wish, the Second Amendment was interpreted as widely as the First.
If the First was read as narrowly as the Second is currently, the freedom of speech — which, among other things, once meant Larry's freedom to sell porn — would've been limited to petitioning the government. And only for redress of grievances...
In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
99% of the ads on Craigslist are for something other than hookers.
Craigslist wasn't specifically designed for illegal activity.
Silk Road was designed for illegal activity, and was mostly used for illegal activity.
Further, Craigslist took care of the hooker issue when it became a problem. The hookers are on Backpage now.
> Even if they know that the client is guilty and would like to see them die a horrible death they have to do their best to defend them in court
Yep. More specifically, they are supposed to act in the best interest of the client, but without lying or helping the client lie.
Spin is required, allowing or participating in actual lying is called "subornation of perjury" and it is grounds for disbarment and a maximum of about five years in prison.
Also, they are not required to try to "get their client off". That's hookers who do that. It is acceptable, I believe, for an attorney to seek to have their drug-addicted client to prison rehab like SAFP, if that is in the client's best interest. That is unless the client specifically instructs their attorney to try to avoid prison rehab
There is a lot of crap worth complaining about, and I think you've missed it if you're complaining about CCE.
How exactly is CCE a "fuck due process law"? A defendant is indicted, tried by jury. The jury concludes the evidence shows that beyond a reasonable doubt, the defendant directed multiple felonies. Where exactly is due process missing?
Tell that to the hookers that keep posting in my citys CL.
Buck Feta. You know what to do.