Turning the Tables
 

Interesting article from the Willamette Week Online. Between the drug war and the terror war you may have noticed that local and Federal cops have been expanding their search rights at the expense of your privacy. The standard reply is, "If you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear." This is a lovely payback by a bunch of local journalists against members of their local government who support the common act of dumpster diving without a search warrant.

You see, everybody has something to hide. Whether its throwing away unwanted Christmas presents or mementos from years ago, exposing eating habits, or maybe you're just a vice cop with vices... I have no sympathy for the "victim" in this case apparently a hypocrit cop who like to use, but there is a bigger question here over what information about you is private or public.

You know, the police chief and the mayor advocate an interesting position. That is, that once something is out on the curb, it's ripe for picking and the owner has relinquished rights to it. So, I have to wonder, if they ever parked their cars there...

There's this thing called "attorney-client privilege" where if you've hired someone to be your lawyer, what you talk about is figured to be private.

Then there's this thing called "doctor-patient confidentiality" where if you've hired someone to be your doctor, you can tell them whatever you like while expecting a level of privacy.

So why doesn't this same kind of professional courtesy apply to other arenas as well? Is it because the trash guys are not as respected as the docs and laywers?

I'm not a lawyer, nor do I play one on TV ...

But I do watch a LOT of Law and Order.

Based on this detailed legal knowledge, I thought that once your stuff went out into the trash it became "public domain" and no search warrant was necessary.

The courts consistantly rule in that direction but is that a proper reading of the Bill of Rights? The colonists were pretty pissed about British searches and seizures related to their tax avoidance and subversive activities. From that perspective, I'd say the courts have been more than a little permissive of intrusion.

I agree. I'd say that the searches through trash are in violation of the Bill of Rights, or at least the spirit of it. Once it gets dumped into a landfill, maybe...

I'm cautious enough that nothing really detailing gets thrown away in my trash - I save all receipts in case I ever need 'em, chew up my ATM receipts, etc - but I'd still consider it a violation.

I just really like the idea of putting the shoe on the other foot. It'd be neat to round table for a bunch of ideas like this to make people realize that their actions have meaning. Bring the birds home to roost, stir up a bees nest, he he jam as many isms into a paragraph as we could.

The interesting thing about this story, if you read the whole thing, is the reaction of the Mayor and the Police Chief. They were completely outspoken and confident in their belief that it's okay for cops to rifle through your trash looking for evidence, because hey, it's public domain! But the moment they found out that reporters had cataloged THEIR trash, they went utterly balistic and threatened to sue, saying it was a violation of their legal rights.

Whaa.. ?

Two words: Crosscut shredder.

Helpful safety tip:

Do not, under any circumstances, even if the brochure for your crosscut shredder says "will even shred a dime," use it instead of a $2.95 pair of scissors to destroy an expired credit card. Particularly if the shredder is out of warranty.

Stuff the shredder, any sensative docs i want to destroy i just drop on the bbq with a few drops of kero.
Cheaper too.

Helps get the wallaby up to temp as well. :)

kangeroo, can't eat Wallaby. Kangeroo is good though...mmm...

That reminds me of an episode of SVU last season where that exact thing happened. Ice-T waited for the suspect (played by Mary Steenburgen) to throw evidence away (the remains of a dead baby), then they busted her. That episode was surreal.

That's for damned sure. GWB and his ilk want to attack our civil rights for our own protection. My standard reply to the totally ignorant "If you've got nothing to hide...." statement is "Why don't you live in a house of plexiglass with clear showers, and bathrooms? Do you have something to hide? Or do you just want privacy?