June 25th 2002 TechTV airs documentary of the State of Georgia Vs David McOwen ScreenSaver case

Attention State Of Georgia Citizens

UPDATE 11/6/2002

Congratulations Georgians and the Country, you did it, you have voted out of Office many of the individuals that voted for political interests first and not the people first!!!

You did have a say in what politicians do like insane things like this above, it's called a vote

All three top positions involved in the above Tyranny are up for election this November

Senator Max Cleland (Gone)

Governor Roy Barnes (Gone)

and 

State Attorney General Thurbert Baker 

(Won his bid but will NOT have the power he had before)

Donna had received letters from the above Politicians that they support the prosecution led by the State Attorney General.

Do your duty  - Do not vote for these Technology challenged individuals and get the word out for all your friends and family to do the same.

Senator Zell Miller remained neutral on the above matter. 

From Anandtech 11/6/2002

Thread Title Anyone else got their eyes on Georgia tonight?

 

Date Posted: 11/06/2002 12:49 AM Posted By: osmo (Golden Member) I'm sure Dave's watching. It looks like Mr. (<-- used very loosely) Baker is going to squeak by giving himself another term to advance his career/agenda at the expense of the innocent Georgian taxpayers. However it appears that his accomplice Mr. Barnes is not as fortunate. Georgia Election Results Here Dave- Just thought you'd like to know that we haven't forgotten about you, not even here in MI. Mrs Osmo and I wish you and Donna well! Osmo.

Date Posted: 11/06/2002 3:57 AM Posted By: JWMiddleton (Diamond Member)   Quote Originally posted by: osmo Dave- Just thought you'd like to know that we haven't forgotten about you, not even here in MI. Osmo. Both my wife and I remember Dave when we voted today in GA! It is a shame that Ms. Goessling didn't campaign cause she basically gave it to Baker. ------------------------- Curious about my Fleet? Got spare cycles? Check out Team Anandtech Distributed Computing

This is a second Press Release from someone that was by my side from across the country;

The nightmare is over for David McOwen and we have reached the conclusion of “The State of Georgia vs. David McOwen” travesty.

Was it a magnanimous gesture on the part of the Georgia Attorney General's office? An edict from the Governor? Did they come to their senses and dismiss along with profuse apologies?

Of course not. When has anyone known the government to admit that they were wrong?

We would be remiss in pointing out that there are probably a lot of really good people in the organizations involved with this case. People that are upright, fair, and just about the way they go about their official duties. It’s debatable whether David encountered any of them in his sojourn through the justice system. That would probably be a matter of opinion.

From our perspective, this case was worthless from day one. It was an incredibly inept application of a lousy statute in some bizarre, Orwellian attempt to crucify a geek for some incomprehensible reason.

Officials apparently realized that violating their own law probably didn’t make them look like the sharpest pencils in the box either. There is also the matter of the GCSPA being taken up in the upcoming legislative session. Even the lawmakers had enough sense to see they screwed up.

David was offered, and accepted a plea agreement. You'll note we do not use the term "bargain", because in reality this is far from a bargain.

Under the provisions of the “first offender act”:

David will have to do 80 hours of community service. At David’s level of expertise, that’s roughly worth $7,000 give-or-take.

David will be given 8 one-year probationary periods – to run concurrently. David will have to report to a probation officer 1 time per month for the entire 12 month period

David will be made to pay $2,100 in “restitution.”

And don’t forget that this is on top of being fired from DeKalb Tech, and from Cingular Wireless. Add to that the legal fees, and harassment from a couple of real creeps. He’s certainly suffered plenty. As near as can be estimated, his costs exceed $25,000 – and climbing. Pretty stiff penalties for someone who did no damage.

On the bright side, Once this is all completed -- David will have no felony record. David will have no misdemeanor record. In other words - It's all over. And in fairness, at least this resolution will make the case "adjudicated." This is actually preferable to plain, old dismissal in that it can never be dredged up again, under the provisions prohibiting double jeopardy, but it falls far short of a dismissal with prejudice. The community service and fine are an entirely unnecessary slap in the face.

For whatever it’s worth – they came to the right conclusion. Our next plan was to involve FIJA (Fully Informed Jury Association) and make darned sure that not a single juror could be found that didn’t know that it was his/her absolute right to judge the law, complete with a critical analysis of the law and why it was unconstitutional.

The EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) had just tossed in its rather large, ominous hat into the ring, and points out that David would likely have won at trial. This is of course is one big reason he was cut any slack at all.

In the immortal words of Kenny Rogers in “The Gambler:” “You gotta know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em...” The “Cyber-sting” and the EFF trump card hit the table at roughly the same time, and they folded at that point. Thanks Lee Tien, and all at the EFF. Your presence alone spoke volumes.

Is there a lesson in this? We’d think so. For our younger readers who may be swayed by the fluffy “love your government” messages coming across the airwaves...

To be a patriot – is to be true to oneself, and one’s brethren in the land you call home. It is important to remember that the Constitution was NOT written to protect government from the people. It was written to protect the people from government. When government ceases to reflect the attitudes and culture of the society it seeks to govern, it is not only your right, but your DUTY to correct them.

Let there be a lesson in this for both sides.

For the citizens:

You hold the highest office in the land. Everyone in government serves YOU. That’s the reason you pay taxes – to pay THEM. Use your voice, and use your VOTE. Let’s take a hard critical look at who we are appointing to act in our behalf.

Hold your elected officials to task. Tell them to start REPEALING laws instead of constantly adding new ones. Politics is about votes and money. If a knee-jerk reaction to some specific incident can get enough press to gain votes – they jump all over it, and write a new law. Those hastily-written edicts are often shoved through the process granting absolute prosecutorial discretion to the government.

This law is a glaring example of just that. Total discretion. That’s not a good thing, folks.

Get involved in your government locally. Ask the hard questions, hold them to task. This land belongs to citizens! If enough people are willing to speak up, things change.

Just say NO to stupid laws!

For the government:

The pen may be mightier than the sword, but a keyboard “rulez.”

So what did we learn in all this?

A. For God’s sake... Get permission in writing, signed in blood (DNA evidence will be conclusive enough to prove it REALLY was your boss that signed it) to conduct any activity at a place of higher learning that may involve unused resources – or anywhere else for that matter.
B. It’s O.K. to violate the law if you’re on the Board of Directors of an institution.
C. It’s O.K. to violate the law if you’re enforcing it.
D. An overzealous prosecutor can destroy a man at a whim, without even a hint of concern for whether it is "just" – and can just go right on his/her merry way.
E. The “justice system” appears to trample the law as a matter of course. exitus acta probat?

What do we hope “they” learned from this?

A. Anything. We wish them a speedy journey to enlightenment. It’s painfully apparent they are nowhere near the destination.

Plea Agreement In Distributed Computing Case