IP: more on (and I second his comments) Imagine that you are afraid of a knock on the door...

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

> Date: Fri, 26 Nov 1999 09:12:41 -0700
> To: farber () cis upenn edu, ip-sub-1 () majordomo pobox com
> From: Brett Glass <brett () lariat org>
> Subject: Re: IP: Imagine that you are afraid of a knock on the door...
>
> Frank Ederveen <frank () our domaintje com> writes:
>
> > > Imagine that the knock could be the police, coming in secret to
> > > interrogate you. Imagine that they can demand you decrypt files
> > > for them, and demand you tell them your code keys, even to get
> > > evidence to use against you. In effect, they can force you to
> > > testify against yourself, and it is a crime to refuse.
>
> In what way is this different from the American institution of the
> Grand Jury, which was used only recently to ensnare no less a
> person than the President himself? In America, the Grand Jury's
> powers stem mainly from its ability to find citizens in "contempt"
> -- a power which it is not in judges' self interest to limit
> because this might diminish their own powers. We thus have a
> conflict of interest that would take bold legislation -- perhaps
> even a Constitutional amendment -- to resolve.
>
> Regardless of one's opinion of our current President, the
> circumstances surrounding his recent impeachment make it clear that
> Americans have already lost the rights to remain silent or avoid
> self-incrimination and must recover them. We thus have even more
> work to do than the British.
>
> --Brett Glass