
IPhone Leak Investigation On Hold As DA Ponders Gizmodo Shield Law Defense - terpua
http://techcrunch.com/2010/04/26/iphone-leak-investigation-on-hold-as-da-ponders-gizmodo-shield-law-defense/
======
tvon
It seems like Gizmodo could have avoided a lot of trouble if they had acted in
a somewhat professional manner. They could have easily examined the device,
taken it apart and re-assembled it, and returned it to Apple, and _then_
published the story without revealing that they had paid $5k for it and
without revealing the identity of the guy who lost it (the justification of
which still mystifies me, at least in the manner in which they did it).

At any rate, I wonder if the shield law coming into play now is more related
to weather or not they feel they can legally extract information from the
equipment rather than weather or not it was legal for Gizmodo to purchase the
device, or for the "finder" to sell it. IANAL, of course.

------
mkramlich
This iPhone raid is a reminder that only the government has the legal monopoly
on trespassing, breaking-and-entering, and theft -- which are _functionally_
equivalent to this raid & confiscate operation. These monopolies are in
addition to those on kidnapping (arrest, imprisonment) and murder (executions,
military actions).

But... do not be alarmed.

~~~
theBobMcCormick
And the alternative is? I don't know of anyplace worth living in that
_doesn't_ have laws and a means of enforcing them. Do you?

~~~
ewanmcteagle
It may not be about completely different alternatives but instead the degree
to which government power should be limited.

~~~
mkramlich
Exactly. The argument is not, "Well, it could be worse." it is, "It should be
better than this."

When you give an entity the legal right to trespass, break-and-enter, steal,
kidnap and kill you better be _damn_ sure it is only done against "bad guys".
Otherwise, that entity _is_ the bad guy.

------
akadien
All of this for a damn phone.

------
jrockway
_The DA will now reevaluate whether those shield laws do apply, and will not
begin going through Chen’s possessions until they’ve reached a decision in the
next few days (he says they’re in no hurry)._

So a guy finds a $5000 phone in a bar, sells it to the media, has the media
look at it, and then returns it to its owner. The state, in an effort to
prevent others from doing this, breaks into the writer's house, takes $5000+
worth of his property, are going to look at it for a few days, and then
they'll return it.

I smiled.

~~~
johnswamps
Do you know what the police do to people when these people take someone by
force and keep them in a location where they don't want to be (kidnapping)?
They take those people by force and keep them in a location they don't want to
be.

And do you know what they do when a person kills other people?

