Tuesday, April 04, 2006

This Would Be a Problem...

From M. Drudge: "Patriot Act Catches a Baby-Food Thief - The case of Samih Jammal, convicted with the help of the Patriot Act and FISA wiretaps of fencing stolen baby formula, sits on the fine line between the government's terrorism-fighting role and its duty to protect citizen's rights. The WALL STREET JOURNAL reports the use of FISA warrants helped prosecuted Arizona grocery wholesaler Jammal, who was convicted of operating a baby formula theft ring.The JOURNAL notes that Jammal, a "U.S. citizen born in Lebanon, was never charged with any offense related to terrorism." Jammal "is appealing, contending that FISA evidence used against him was illegally obtained and crippled his defense. ... 'It's baby formula of mass destruction here,' he said at one pretrial hearing." Developing..."

Mr. Jammal has a point. Someone should save me from my continued slip and slide toward the left!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

i think that the special need of terrorism that justifies going far beyond fourth amendment norms means that we shouldn't allow the evidence to be used for ordinary criminal purposes. too risky