What-cha Got There? - Final

Since agreeing with the prior conviction, the US Supreme Court said that applying the exclusionary rule to knock-and-announce violations is not "worth a lot" as a deterrent. Instead, it creates an incentive for criminal defendants to attack police conduct, Scalia writes. "The cost of entering this lottery would be small, but the jackpot enormous; suppression of all evidence, amounting in many cases to a get-out-of-jail-free card,"
The media is often very outspoken when it feels that the rights of an individual are being taken from them. Many liken this type of case to the somewhat controversial patriot act. After the attacks on this country on 9/11 laws have been formed to protect the general but it seems not the individual. Some argue that the no -knock tactic is appropriate in a few limited situations, such as when hostages or fugitives are involved, or where the suspect poses an immediate threat to community safety. But increasingly, this highly confrontational tactic is being used in less volatile situations, most commonly to serve routine search warrants for illegal drugs. The media is outraged that some of these raids are launched on tips from notoriously unreliable “confidential informants”. This right to privacy in your home will someday, I believe, be likened to the rights that individuals enjoy online, in their favorite chat room, or on their favorite blog. The right to privacy in Internet activity is a serious issue facing society. Some users of the 'net wish to shield their identities while participating in frank discussions of sensitive topics. Others fulfill fantasies and harmlessly role play under the cover of a false identity in chatrooms. But there are the eternal "bad apples," and on the Internet, they are the people who use anonymous servers as more than a way to avoid responsibility for controversial remarks. Cases of harassment and abuse have become increasingly frequent, aided by a cloak of anonymity. There are also problems with frauds and scam artists who elude law enforcement authorities through anonymous mailings and postings. Other users are concerned about the proliferation of information on the Internet. Databases of court records are now available for free over the World Wide Web. While this information was already available to anyone that wanted it the public has grown more aware of just how public their records have become.
Since no formal law exists within cyberspace, Internet users can find recourse only through the applicable laws of their own government. While there is still much to be decided the in US law and its relevance to the American Internet user, one thing is for sure. If you going to put a blog up on your myspace page saying that your boss is an idiot….. make sure that your boss is not an avid myspacer. Work gossip used to be reserved for the bar up the street with coworkers, now a boss can get on myspace, or facebook and find out just about anything about an employee. Now, should that be legal?