This week the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Luis v. United States in which the United States Department of "Justice" is arguing it may seize all of a defendant's assets including those with no possible "criminal taint" before a case goes to trial (archived). The Department of "Justice" is arguing that it may seize any property which could later be used to satisfy a judgement even though doing so completely obliterates the defendant's ability to mount a credible defense. The Department of "Justice" tried to use this argument against foreign national Kim Dotcom, and it was rejected by the local courts in New Zealand who recognized that actual justice and fair trials depend on the defendant having an opportunity to challenge the prosecution's allegations.
Category Archives: The Law
Yik Yak Use Leads To Arrest
A teenager studying computer engineering at the Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla was reportedly arrested at his residence hall and rendered under the cover of darkness to the Boone County Jail in Columbia, Missouri. The teenage student is alleged to have posted text to the so called anonymous local message board app "Yik Yak" which the police are alleging was a "criminal terroristic threat" (archived). In a blog post today operators of the "Yik Yak" platform confirmed that they cooperate with law enforcement agencies and share information. It appears the civil unrest in Columbia, Missouri and at the Mizzou campus is continuing to escalate in spite of Monday's resignation of President Tim Wolfe. Numerous examples of conflict between students and faculty trying to continue the academic business of the university are emerging in local media, including that of professor of nutrition Dr. Dale Brigham whose attempt to resign his position after student uproar over his decision to dare holding class and an exam on Wednesday is not being recognized by the University (archived). Continue reading
Preet Ups the Charges for Coin.mx Operators
Preet Bharara's office announced another round of charges for the operators of Coin.mx with the latest charges relating to a hack of JP Morgan and others (archived).
Wolfe Resigns At Mizzou Surrendering To Pressure
Tim Wolfe, president of the University of Missouri System, tendered his resignation at an emergency board of curators meeting. The football team is anticipated to resume organized team activities and compete in a game against Brigham Young University on Saturday.
ProtonMail Confirms Ongoing Profitability of Negotiations (For The Terrorists)
As reported by ProtonMail itself (archived), the Swiss security theatricians have followed FBI-recommended best practice and caved to the demands of terrorists: Continue reading
Mizzou and Yale Experience Acute Unrest
Two major American Universities have been thrust into a state of unrest due to activism in the name of "social justice" and "diversity" late this fall semester. Yale University's crisis was triggered by duelling emails concerning Halloween costumes, while trouble at the University of Missouri began with a isolated incidents of drunks using racial slurs and has escalated into a series of boycotts hindering campus services. Continue reading
Torrent Infrastructure Hindered as Demonii/YIFY/YTS Fall
Late in October the torrent outfit YIFY took down their website and mysteriously ceased operating. TorrentFreak is now reporting the operator of the outfit has reached an undisclosed settlement with the MPAA (archived). A substantial casualty of this settlement is Demonii, the largest public torrent tracker which had been operated by persons affiliated with YIFY. The unprecedented settlement is suggestive of the possibility that the entire YIFY operation may have been a false flag for its entire duration. Readers using torrent software are advised to block connections to the Demonii tracker as it may be used as a data collection tool by the MPAA and other Copyrast operations.
Man Convicted as Serial Killer Over Circumstantial Evidence
Charles Severance was convicted of three murders involving prominent Alexandria, Virginia residents which occurred over more than a decade in spite of the entirely circumstantial nature of the evidence against him and the existence of credible alternative suspects (archived, archived). The first murder to occur for which Severance has been convicted was that of Nancy Dunning, a real estate agent and wife of James Dunning, a former Alexandria sheriff. Her husband the former sheriff was a suspect for a long time though he was never charged in a crime.
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Fox Lake "Hero" Officer Accused of Suicide and Embezzlement
Fox Lake Police Lieutenant Charles Joseph Gliniewicz whose death in September ignited a manhunt for his alleged yet unidentified killers has now had his cause of death redetermined to be a suicide (archived). Gliniewicz's motive for commiting this killing is alleged to stem from fear that his theft of equipment and funds would be discovered. Living police officials allege that among other actions Gliniewicz stole money from the department's "Police Explorer" youth program, which Lieutenant Gliniewicz directed and mentored and used the money for his own purposes (archived). Qntra can not determine the veracity of these allegations though an unsolvable killing of an officer would create opportunity for surviving members of the department to commit their own improprieties and hang the blame on the deceased. If this is indeed a suicide Lieutenant Gliniewicz would not be the only Illinois police officer to kill himself while on duty in the month of September 2015. Caseyville, Illinois Police Sergeant and one time interim chief of that department Scott Miller shot himself in his squad car with his department issued firearm (archived) after 21 years working in that department though no criminal acts were attributed to him posthumously yet.
Micon Gets Probation and $25,000 Fine
Reports are surfacing that Brian Micon who plead guilty to operating an unlicensed gambling site in June has been sentenced to two years of probation and a 25,000 United States dollar fine. The fine was negotiated earlier along forfeitures of computing equipment, 900 United States dollars, and 3.0996 Bitcoins. The only item to be determined during the sentencing was the length of his probation.