Comment Re:Poor metric. (Score 1) 256
Hz != V... Pretty sure you're off by 50ish there.
Blood tests, failing FSTs, officer observations of your behavior and smell... any of these things are sufficient to convict beyond a reasonable doubt.
While you're not quite right about what it takes to convict in a DUI case, you are right in saying that you don't necessarily need breathalyzer results. Hence the ruling: no source code unless it is going to bear on the outcome of the case. If the test results aren't vital to determining guilt, then there is no issue. In many cases, however, they are. In such cases, it's important to know how the test works, and if there is some fundamental problem with its reliability. It's absurd to say that you don't need to know if the test is good or not, since there's other evidence. If that were true, there would be no need for the test in the first place.
Aside from the remarkable overreach by campus and state police in trying to paint a student as suspicious in part because he can navigate a non-Windows computer environment, nothing cited in the warrant application could possibly constitute the cited criminal offenses. There are no assertions that a commercial (i.e. for pay) commercial service was defrauded, a necessary element of any "Obtaining computer services by Fraud or Misrepresentation" allegation. Similarly, the investigating officer doesn't explain how sending an e-mail to a campus mailing list might constitute "unauthorized access to a computer system."
That is their characterization, even if you choose to narrowly consider only this particular source and not the total content of their statements. The mistake you both make is in taking one piece of the argument and presenting it as if there is nothing more. Seriously, did they not teach critical thinking at whatever school you bought your diploma from? As for your feeble attempt to support the probable cause for the warrant, you've ignored the fact that the witness was not established as reliable. I won't try to convince you, since you clearly aren't interested in finding the truth. Rather, for the sake of those reading this exchange, I'll point to the fact that your reference to the TOC requirement is a red herring. As you point out, it's totally irrelevant to this case. Why you brought it up is still a mystery to me, unless you just wanted to cite the one case with which you're familiar. What matters is that the witness clearly fails the two-prong test required by Spinelli. There is no valid basis for reliability established, beyond "he helped us in another unspecified case with an unspecified outcome." The police simply stating "he's reliable" is obviously insufficient, and even much stronger showings have been found wanting. As for your assertion that it doesn't matter if the crimes are listed properly in the affidavit, you've constructed a straw man. The issue isn't improper citing of the statutes, but whether any of the actions alleged to be criminal are, in fact, criminal. Additionally, there must be some connection between the crime and the location searched/evidence seized. The only potentially criminal act (under any relevant statute) alleged in the warrant application is the grade-changing. There is no information, however, linking the grade-changing to the items seized or the area searched. In fact, the witness doesn't even provide the approximate date or even year when it supposedly took place. If you can read probable cause into the facts of this case, I sincerely hope you are never in a position where your legal opinions matter.
Your arrogance is evident, as is your inability to reason.
Going with the "checking the bags when you leave" analogy, it's not the fact that the bags are being checked that annoys me, it's the act of having to queue at this final gatekeeper and wait for their OK before I can walk past.
If it really bothers you to wait, then don't. The store employee has no arrest powers, especially given that he has no knowledge that you have committed any crime. They cannot detain you without opening themselves to lawsuits and criminal prosecution. You have every right to put your receipt in your wallet, tie your bag, and head out the door. They can't stop you or force you to show them anything before you can leave. On the other hand, they can tell you not to come back, and have you arrested the moment you step back inside the door. Note that this is not legal advice, and I base this solely upon knowledge of the laws in my own state. Things might be different where you live, but I doubt it.
Living on Earth may be expensive, but it includes an annual free trip around the Sun.