Re: [CTRL] KGBing the USA
-Caveat Lector- What is this in relationship to?? Eric Stewart wrote: -Caveat Lector- Why are you taking the prosecutors side in wanting to get rid of grand juries? == This is a research list and as such, I consider a vast majority of what I post on the list to be subject to examination by all on this list. I have had to post this disclaimer several times since joining this list and tire of it. -- Where did you get the information you are basing the above on? == The author's name is on the post. __ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substancenot soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om RFC822 header --- Return-Path: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Received: from listmail.aol.com ([152.163.200.33]) by zag.workstation.org.uk (Netscape Mail Server v2.02) with ESMTP id AAA190 for [EMAIL PROTECTED]; Wed, 3 Feb 1999 21:09:32 + Received: from LISTSERV.AOL.COM by listmail.aol.com (LSMTP for Windows NT v1.1b) with SMTP id [EMAIL PROTECTED]; Wed, 3 Feb 1999 16:22:09 -0500 Received: from LISTSERV.AOL.COM by LISTSERV.AOL.COM (LISTSERV-TCP/IP release 1.8d) with spool id 23059087 for [EMAIL PROTECTED]; Wed, 3 Feb 1999 16:22:09 -0500 Received: from hotmail.com (f57.hotmail.com [207.82.251.69]) by listserv.aol.com (8.8.8/8.8.8) with SMTP id QAA29870 for [EMAIL PROTECTED]; Wed, 3 Feb 1999 16:22:08 -0500 (EST) Received: (qmail 21864 invoked by uid 0); 3 Feb 1999 21:22:07 - Received: from 12.76.67.201 by www.hotmail.com with HTTP; Wed, 03 Feb 1999 13:22:06 PST X-Originating-IP: [12.76.67.201] Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Wed, 3 Feb 1999 13:22:06 PST Reply-To: Conspiracy Theory Research List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sender: Conspiracy Theory Research List [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: Eric Stewart [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [CTRL] KGBing the USA To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substancenot soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] KGBing the USA
-Caveat Lector- Newshawk:- Hopwood Pubdate: January 13, 1999 Source: Anderson Valley Advertiser (CA) Copyright: Anderson Valley Advertiser Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Author: Tony Serra KGB-ING AMERICA The late 60s, when I started practice, were marked by a great number of salient political causes, embodied in demonstrations in Berkeley and San Francisco. I came to represent the White Panthers, the Black Panthers. the Symbionese Liberation Army, and a number of other groups like the New Liberation Front. I confronted a phenomenon then, which we hoped would diminish, but which has instead increased steadfastly. I'll call that phenomenon "The Secret Police Motif: Orwellian Prophesy Fulfilled" or "The KGB-ing of America." Informants: In every criminal case in our alleged system of justice, some form of spy mentality is now present. There are degrees of informants. We probably have more nomenclature for informants than does any other culture. We have citizen informants, confidential informants, confidential reliable informants, unnamed anonymous informants, informants who are precipient informants who are participatory, informants who are merely eye-witnesses, informants who are co-defendants, informants who precipitate charges by reverse stings. We are con-fronting informants and cooperating witnesses at every level: preliminary hearings, grand juries, and state and federal jury trials. Our system of justice is permeated by the witness or the provocateur who is paid by government for a role in either revealing or instigating crime. It's probably the greatest tragedy of my career, in terms of whether or not justice is really pursued and whether truth is a foundation for actualizing justice. I reason: if the defense went out and bought witnesses-paid $10,000 for one witness, $20,000 for another, and $50,000 for another for their testimony - it would be laughable from the jury's point of view they would soundly reject that type of witness; they would be called obstruction of justice defendants and the lawyers would he prosecuted. Obviously, you can't do that. On the other hand, in every major case the informant or cooperating witness gets something far more precious than money; they get liberty. They get 20 years or 10 years knocked off their sentences. They get to settle in a new lifestyle with a new identity and obtain a job or relocating in the federal or state witness protection program. The government is paying their witnesses with freedom. The witnesses have to deliver what the government wants or they don't get that bargain. As a consequence the courts are rife with false testimony; every cause is polluted by informants. The adversary system is tainted because everyone rolls or becomes a government witness and therefore there is no opposition. Constitutional rights aren't litigated because cases are determined by how much evidence an informant or corroborating witness can give you. At every level, the independent judiciary is eroding. It's something we confront every day. People in the American sub-culture experience paranoia because they never know who is a spy or an informant. There's paranoia in he court system because you never know whether your co-defendant is recording you. There's paranoia among the lawyers because you never know if your own defendant is rolling behind your back and recording you. In my opinion, the singularly unexpected and singularly and singularly aspect of our system of criminal jurisprudence is the use of the informant. Grand Juries: Back in the 60's the government used grand juries to some small degree. Today, every Federal case - 99.9% of all Federal cases - involves indictment by grand jury. That means no preliminary hearing, no confrontation, and no lawyer present on the behalf of the accused. The accused isn't there and doesn't see, hear or confront, or cross-examine his or her accusers. The grand jury system by its nature is secretive; it is considered a felony to reveal anything that occurred or what your testimony was. We have a kind of misplaced historical procedure. We inherited the grand jury from English Common Law, where they used it to go after the lords and persons who were otherwise above the law. In a sense it was needed and justified then. But in our country, it is used now as an instrument of terror. Everyone fears it. You have relatives testifying against one another. With no confidentiality privilege with respect to family members other than husbands and wives, you have parents called to testify against their children. Children are called to testify against their parents, and brother against sister, and so on. It lacks all due process. It is immoral. It is an instrument of oppression. It's another secret tool of an expanding executive branch. Mandatory Sentences "Three Strikes" types of penal laws are prevalent both in federal and state jurisdictions. Beyond that, in most federal cases, at least in drug cases, but spilling over
Re: [CTRL] KGBing the USA
-Caveat Lector- Eric Stewart wrote: Grand Juries: Back in the 60's the government used grand juries to some small degree. Today, every Federal case - 99.9% of all Federal cases - involves indictment by grand jury. That means no preliminary hearing, no confrontation, and no lawyer present on the behalf of the accused. The accused isn't there and doesn't see, hear or confront, or cross-examine his or her accusers. The grand jury system by its nature is secretive; it is considered a felony to reveal anything that occurred or what your testimony was. We have a kind of misplaced historical procedure. We inherited the grand jury from English Common Law, where they used it to go after the lords and persons who were otherwise above the law. In a sense it was needed and justified then. But in our country, it is used now as an instrument of terror. Everyone fears it. You have relatives testifying against one another. With no confidentiality privilege with respect to family members other than husbands and wives, you have parents called to testify against their children. Children are called to testify against their parents, and brother against sister, and so on. It lacks all due process. It is immoral. It is an instrument of oppression. It's another secret tool of an expanding executive branch. The fact that the grand jury is being misused by prosecutors is not a reason to get rid of it. What would happen instead? Instead you would have the Prosecutor indict by information. The accused would not even have the protection of the grand jury. He would have to go directly to trial. The grand jury is supposed to be a protection. The problem is that most people who serve on the grand jury do not understand their job until after they have served. Also, judges have tried failed to enpanel enough grand juries to cover the case load. In Fulton County (Atlanta) the grand juries have over and over requested more juries be enpanelled because of the high case load, but the judges have ignored them. I went through all the presentments of the Fulton County grand juries from the 30s to about five years ago. Over and over they would complain of the case load and that they were not able to do their jobs. But the judges want them too busy. Keeps them from looking into how the county government is run, etc. Why are you taking the prosecutors side in wanting to get rid of grand juries? Where did you get the information you are basing the above on? Howard Davis DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substancenot soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
