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[Christopher R. Maden]

At 20:00 27-11-2001, Ernest A. Erickson wrote:
>Sorry folks for my screwup!
>Here's the MEAT and Taters of what was supposed to arrive....It appears 
>that after the initial charges brought about by Adobe in this matter, and 
>subsequently DROPPED by same; how can the government go ahead and 
>hold/charge/indict Dimitry and "company" when the "parent" troublemaker 
>decided(and rightfully so) to drop charges against him?
>Me thinks me smells a foul odor of power hungry NAZI-types here.

That's how criminal cases work.  This will be US v. Sklyarov and Elcom 
Ltd., not Adobe Systems, Inc. v. Sklyarov and Elcom Ltd.  A complaint can 
be a cause for arrest and prosecution, but it is neither the only possible 
cause nor is the prosecutor obligated to drop the case because the original 
complaint is dropped.  If the law is broken, the prosecutor is charged with 
prosecuting it; if a family-less, friend-less person is murdered - and 
everyone hated him and wanted him dead, and no one is willing to press a 
complaint - the prosecutor is still obliged to prosecute if evidence can be 
found for the killer.

Now it is entirely arguable that Dmitry didn't actually break the law, and 
it also seems evident that the law in question is a bad law.  But the 
USDAONDOCA (or whatever) is entirely within bounds to prosecute.  The 
protest at the Federal Building in SF, in coöperation with the EFF meeting 
inside, was targeted at getting the US Attorney to drop the case after 
Adobe dropped the complaint, but that was unsuccessful.  Moreover, Adobe 
may have dropped the complaint, but is still coöperating with the 
prosecution to see the case through AIUI.

~crism
-- 
Libertarian candidate, California State Assembly, District 13
Free Sklyarov: <URL: http://www.freesklyarov.org/ >
Freelance text nerd: <URL: http://crism.maden.org/ >
PGP Fingerprint: BBA6 4085 DED0 E176 D6D4  5DFC AC52 F825 AFEC 58DA
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