Man imprisoned for not giving police password.

Jurors cannot translate refusal to give a password into beyond reasonable doubt that he has child porn! The issue here is the guy's own quality of life once he comes out of prison.
 
Xientie said:
... I would die a 1000 times over before I gave up my freedom and I would back any man or woman from every race, creed and religion who thought likewise.
Click to expand...

I wish I had your balls.

I agree 100% with what you are saying - this is about protecting privacy.
 
platypus said:
Juries are made of human beings, who assume things. The fact that he hid his password would certainly have come out in court, and therefore the Jury would very likely jumped to the conclusion of child pornography.
Click to expand...

And the lawyers could no doubt attempt to request a new jury or trial if they claim this 1 is biased. Such a thing probably couldn't even be mentioned.
 
vonhelmet said:
If the police turned up at your house with a warrant to search your house, would you refuse them entry?
Click to expand...

I wouldn't because it would be utterly futile. If you refuse them entry they would simply arrest you and go inside anyway. If they requested a key and you refused they could just break the lock, again not a good outcome. If they request a password they have absolutely no way around, the power is all yours.
 
"He must be hiding something" is not specific evidence that can be used to convict of a specific crime. Regardless of whether people think 'on balance' he's guilty of 'something', the way it works in this country is that you're charged with a specific crime, for which specific evidence must be presented to get a conviction.

"His actions can only be those of a guilty man, although guilty of what I've no idea" isn't good enough. We don't have fishing trip justice in this country.
 
vonhelmet said:
I wonder about that actually, as juries aren't supposed to know about past offences, are they?

Interesting...
Click to expand...
Any prosecuting lawyer worth his salt would bring it up, even if it was struck from the record as not being admissible the Jury would still have heard it.
 
Evilsod said:
I wouldn't because it would be utterly futile. If you refuse them entry they would simply arrest you and go inside anyway. If they requested a key and you refused they could just break the lock, again not a good outcome. If they request a password they have absolutely no way around, the power is all yours.
Click to expand...

Really, sounds like they throw you in jail to me, and you'll get branded by the public as guilty of whatever they where investigating..

I think you can take that power all the way to the showers.. just be careful picking up the soap..

:)
 
Janesy B said:
I think there's a fine line between maintaining your principals and cutting your nose to spite your face. I think in some cases it's just easier for you to cooperate and get it over and done with.
Click to expand...

Easier, certainly. That doesn't mean it's right...
 
Last edited:
a lesson to anyone NEVER say you will not give them the password, tell them what you think it is (obviously not correct) and keep insisting that what you remember the password is...

or jsut say its written on a bit of paper in your house but you got drunk and lost it some where...
 
Duff-Man said:
Easier, certainly. That doesn't mean it's right...
Click to expand...

It is right to expect the password or anything else the Police have a warrant for, but people often like to be wrong, and feel they have a right to be wrong, bless 'em..
 
Demon said:
It is right to expect the password or anything else the Police have a warrant for, but people often like to be wrong, and feel they have a right to be wrong, bless 'em..
Click to expand...

I don't have any idea what you are trying to say here, other than loading on the condescension :confused:

Clearly right and wrong are a matter of personal perspective, and the threat of punishment does not change this one way or another.
 
Duff-Man said:
I don't have any idea what you are trying to say here, other than loading on the condescension :confused:

Clearly right and wrong are a matter of personal perspective, and the threat of punishment does not change this one way or another.
Click to expand...

It's simply stating the fact that whatever you 'perceive' as right and wrong, the law has a much clearer version of right and wrong, and in this case, he was wrong to withhold his password, hence he's in jail..

I don't believe our own perception of right and wrong in this case is worth two figs in the real world.

:)
 
Last edited:
edscdk said:
or jsut say its written on a bit of paper in your house but you got drunk and lost it some where...
Click to expand...

Don't you mean:

"certainly officer, my password is written on a post-it note that is attached to the computer you seized this morning.... it's not there now you say? May I see a copy of the items seized please?" ;)

When my equipment was seized by the police I asked for a complete broken down list of every single item they took including serial numbers. They give me something like this:

1x Dell Lap Top - Yes not laptop but Lap Top.
1x computer screen
1x black computer "Cooler master"
several hard drives
1x nokia red and black mobile phone

They lack a certain attention to detail.
 
Last edited:
Demon said:
It's simply stating the fact that whatever you 'perceive' as right and wrong, the law has a much clearer version of right and wrong, and in this case, he was wrong to withhold his password, hence he's in jail..

I don't believe our own perception of right and wrong is worth two figs in the real world.

:)
Click to expand...

You aren't seriously going to argue that "the law" is the ultimate and absolute definition of right and wrong, are you? The law can be changed at the whim of politicians, and varies country by country, whereas "right and wrong" are abstract constructs dependent on personal perception and experience. Does smoking cannabis automatically become "right" when you are in Holland, or "wrong" in the UK? Does stoning a woman to death for being raped (i.e. sex outside marriage) become "right" when you enter Iran?

Right and wrong ARE defined by personal viewpoint. There will inevitably be circumstances where this personal viewpoint comes into conflict with the law, and the punishments it can dole out. In these circumstances it is up to the individual to decide whether his or her principles are worth the potential punishments of the law.
 
platypus said:
Juries are made of human beings, who assume things. The fact that he hid his password would certainly have come out in court, and therefore the Jury would very likely jumped to the conclusion of child pornography.
Click to expand...

I think we need to give them a bit more credit...
 
Demon said:
It's simply stating the fact that whatever you 'perceive' as right and wrong, the law has a much clearer version of right and wrong, and in this case, he was wrong to withhold his password, hence he's in jail..

I don't believe our own perception of right and wrong in this case is worth two figs in the real world.

:)
Click to expand...

How do you know he was wrong to withhold his password? We don't even know why he was under suspicion.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom