[free-sklyarov]juridical procedures

[Seth David Schoen]

Anton Chterenlikht writes:

> Does anyone know the juridical procedures in such case?

I'm _not a lawyer_ and will give you my own understanding of the
situation.

Unlike other previous DMCA cases, this is a criminal case, not a civil
case.  This means, among other things, that Mr. Sklyarov has
additional protections (such as the privilege against self-incrimination,
the right to counsel, and the presumption of innocence) but that the
plaintiff is the government and can use certain government powers in its
investigation and prosecution of the case.  In addition, it means that
Mr. Sklyarov can be sentenced to jail if he is convicted.

Self-incrimination: Mr. Sklyarov cannot be compelled to say anything
which could be used against him, or to testify.  He must be advised
that statements he makes to police can be used against him.

Counsel: If Mr. Sklyarov does not have a lawyer, the court must
appoint a lawyer to represent him for free.  The lawyer's fees must be
paid by the government (although in practice the lawyer will normally
be a public defender who is already employed by the government).

Presumption of innocence: The court and the government must assume
that Mr. Sklyarov is innocent until and unless he is proven guilty.
They must not claim that it has been proven that he has violated the
law; he retains his civil rights in general (although he can be
detained!); and members of the public are not supposed to claim that
he has been convicted or that he has committed a crime.  (If they do,
Mr. Sklyarov can sue them for defamation.)  The U.S. Attorney and his
colleagues in the Department of Justice are allowed to claim that 
Mr. Sklyarov has committed a crime, but they must not claim that this
has been proven.

There are also other constitutional rights such as the right to a
speedy and public trial, as well as other standards for the treatment
of prisoners and the disposition of some of their requests.  It's
really quite elaborate.

A trial would be governed by the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure,
which you can find, for example, at

http://www.law.ukans.edu/research/frcrimI.htm

There's lots of other procedure (arraignment, bail, etc.) and I don't
know where to find information on that.

> How long can it take
> until his next appearance in the court?

I believe his arraignment will be very soon, because there are strict
limits on how long people can be detained before they are charged with
something.  I will call the San Francisco public defender today to see
if there is any information.

> Is there any source of information about
> Califironian laws?

It's U.S. Federal law rather than California state law.  There are
many such sources; a few are

http://www.findlaw.com/
http://www.law.cornell.edu/

-- 
Seth David Schoen <schoen at loyalty.org>  | And do not say, I will study when I
Temp.  http://www.loyalty.org/~schoen/  | have leisure; for perhaps you will
down:  http://www.loyalty.org/   (CAF)  | not have leisure.  -- Pirke Avot 2:5