[free-sklyarov] ok, i was willing to buy the flight risk line

[Paul Callahan]

...but, and I realize this is a little off topic, we have some guy
from France making an ass of himself around the Statue of Liberty
and endangering the lives of people who have to come and 
rescue him:

http://www.cnn.com/2001/US/08/23/statue.parasail/index.html

This is a unambiguous offense committed on US soil.  This knucklehead
is
immediately out on bail (passport confiscated--making it harder to
leave the country) unlike Sklyarov who was in Federal custody
for weeks.  Nobody called the stuntman a "flight risk" despite
the fact that his home is in France.  

Can someone please explain why Sklyarov was more of a flight risk 
than this person?

OK, is itbecause it's a misdemeanor offense to selfishly
misdirect valuable safety resources (not to mention potentially
damaging a national monument) whereas "circumventing" a poorly
designed encryption system by writing a program on a computer
in Russia is a "felony" under DMCA? That's about all I can figure.  
Or maybe French are treated better than Russians in this country?

Seriously, I'd be interested in a legal analysis from 
someone who can speak authoritatively.  Clearly, it is *not* the 
case that foreign nationals are routinely denied bail in the US as
"flight risks."  I was more or less bamboozled into thinking this 
*was* the case after hearing the official explanations for 
Sklyarov's initial bail status.

Let me repeat: Clearly, it is *not* the case that foreign nationals 
are routinely denied bail in the US as flight risks.  Dmitry was 
treated badly.  Anyone want to convince me otherwise?

--Paul


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