[2456] in Privacy_Forum
[ PRIVACY Forum ] Racy,
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (PRIVACY Forum mailing list)
Mon Feb 13 23:59:32 2012
Date: Mon, 13 Feb 2012 20:48:26 -0800
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Racy, vulgar texts hurt Justice Department's sting operation
http://j.mp/wkCTXW (Washington Post)
"It's no secret that informants, like the one in this sting, tend to
have shady pasts, traits that make them easy targets for defense
attorneys. But modern communications - texts, in this case - permitted
a new line of attack: Defense lawyers used the questionable messages
to savage the credibility and professionalism of FBI agents, who not
only seemed to share their informant's offensive sense of humor but
also appeared to like him. While close relationships sometimes develop
between agents and their informants, it is rare for such
communications to become public. FBI agents closely guard the details
of those relationships and are generally careful about what they put
in writing."
- - -
As the saying says, what goes around, comes around. Fancy that - juries
disgusted by seeing law enforcement appearing to behave as badly as their
targets. And there's a certain poetic justice in seeing texts used
in this manner, given law enforcement's fetish for using text messages
as evidence.
--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein (lauren@vortex.com): http://www.vortex.com/lauren
Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org
Founder:
- Data Wisdom Explorers League: http://www.dwel.org
- Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org
- Global Coalition for Transparent Internet Performance: http://www.gctip.org
- PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com
Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
Google+: http://vortex.com/g+lauren / Twitter: http://vortex.com/t-lauren
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com
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