Civil cases can be discarded if the government gets the judge to
agree that secrecy requirements are hampering the government's case.
If they didn't have probable cause, they will say "Oh, its
classified" and get the case dismissed. I am not a lawyer, but it
looks like you are screwed out of the server either way. You should
consult a lawyer to determine what your status is. Or you could wait
until the server gets taken.
On May 20, 2006, at 7:53 AM, Mike Perry wrote:
> So I was doing some research into the EFF vs. AT&T case because it's
> happening right in my backyard and it's fascinating as all get-out,
> and I came across 18 USC 2707 (of the ECPA):
>
> http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode18/
> usc_sec_18_00002707----000-.html
>
> This seems to state that if a server or traffic is seized without
> good faith and probable cause (and a warrant) that the owner of that
> server has civil avenues of remedy against the government ($1000/email
> account + legal costs).
> Since several friends of mine have email accounts on the machine that
> also runs my Tor node, it would seem this is applicable here. I
> updated my disclaimer at
>
> http://tor-exit.fscked.org/
>
> to reflect this, as well as to better identify a Tor node for what it
> is (as far as the law is conerned): an Internet router just like any
> other, except that it does not maintain the source address of packets.
>
> Based on these grounds, it would seem that what happened in France
> should be pretty impossible in the US, at least legally, since
> probable cause should not exist.
>
> But as we know, the US government doesn't seem to be too fond of
> following the law anymore. So there's always that element of risk.
There is also the risk that they seize your server and get a FISA
warrant three days later.
>
>
> I suppose they probably will try to claim in EFF v AT&T that they DO
> have probable cause to tap the Internet traffic of the entire
> west coast... But of course that claim is classified, so none of us
> (nor
> even EFF) will get to see it. Genius and insanity oft go hand in hand.
>
> --
> Mike Perry
> Mad Computer Scientist
> fscked.org evil labs
Sincerely,
Watson Ladd
---
"Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little
Temporary Safety deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
-- Benjamin Franklin