Re: IP: A response to an IP posting -- a correction

[Dave Farber <farber () central cis upenn edu>]

To: Dave Farber <farber () central cis upenn edu>
From: Dan Gillmor <dgillmor () sjmercury com>


To correct just one of the several misstatements in a recent posting:


> However, when a Tennessee district attorney began investigating and
> subsequently prosecuting a Milpitas, Calif., couple based on content
> that their BBS was offering, I did not see anyone, within or outside of
> the US, claim that this DA's actions reflected a policy of the US
> government.


It was a federal prosecutor who did this, with the U.S. Justice Department's
full knowledge and direction. Here's a relevant piece of a column I wrote in
1994 when it happened:


>     The Memphis case turns that concept on its head, according to Mike
Godwin, legal counsel for the Electronic Frontier Foundation,  a
Washington-based organization that promotes civil liberties in cyberspace.
>     "The Supreme Court rejected the notion that the obscenity standards of
Times Square in New York City should be used to set the standards for Middle
America," Godwin says via electronic mail. "By the same token, the standards
of Memphis shouldn't be used to set the standards for Milpitas, Calif."
>     Wanna bet? John  Russell, a spokesman for the U.S. Justice Department,
says, "If it's sent from Point A to Memphis it's liable for prosecution in
Memphis and Point A."




Dan Gillmor, Computing Editor    E-mail: dgillmor () sjmercury com 
San Jose Mercury News            Voice: 408-920-5016 
750 Ridder Park Drive            Fax: 408-920-5917 
San Jose, CA 95190               http://www.sjmercury.com/homepage/gillmor/