Police blotter: Trojan horse leads to porn convictions

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Exactly

Well neighborhood watch groups are private vigilants. It's sometimes what it takes to get things done. The law states that we are all militia, and in the places where the government falls short, it is the duty of the populace to pick up the slack.

Now a private citizen cannot commit a crime knowing it will uncover another. In other words, you can't just break into someone's home knowing there is a gun in there that was used in a crime. But if you break into the house with the intent of stealing jewelry and find a dead body, then that's different. You didn't know the body was there, and the discovery was not your intent.

If a homeless man is walking through your neighborhood foraging garbage cans for scraps and finds a dead body in your trash can, he may have trespassed on your property (a misdemeanor), but he still has a right -- and an obligation, actually -- to turn you in.

While this circumstance is different, it is similar in that the private citizen (homeless man) discovered evidence of a crime (dead body) while committing a crime himself (trespassing). In the court case, an alleged private citizen (UnknownUser) discovered evidence of a crime (kiddie porn photos) while committing one himself (unauthorized computer access).

Simple, no?

Posted by: ken_ballard@...   Posted on: 08/28/06 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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