Do two "wrongs" ever make a "right"?

[nihil]

Interesting case here............... a canadian hacker plants a trojan and gets a former senior US judge (yep, California is still part of the US) some Bubba time?

Makes you wonder though............ heinous as the perps activities were, does the end justify the means.

After all, if it is OK for a private citizen (and a foreign national at that) it sort of gives a carte blanche to your governments?

http://www.channelregister.co.uk/200...se_sentencing/

[westin]

I have no sympathy for child molesters/pedophiles... children have enough to deal with growing up right now without having to worry about some sick-o judge dreaming about fondling them. While what the tipster did may not have been entirely ethical, I believe the end DOES justify the means.

[nihil]

I totally agree with your view on "nonces" but the question I was raising is slightly more subtle.

We have seen seen an apparent erosion in "civil liberties" in recent years in the name of "The War Against Terrorism"............... I was wondering if the same might not happen in "The War Against Paedophilia".

For years, apparently valid criminal cases have been thrown out by courts across the World, because of the "inadmissibility" of certain evidence. Are these admissibility rules to be cast aside? After all, it will be an all or nothing situation in most places........... the evidence is either "in" or "out" no matter the nature of the crime.

It sort of leaves the door open to bugging, phone tapping and any other evidence gathering technique............without permission of the courts?

[westin]

I definitely see your point of view. That is a very interesting take on the matter... I wasn't thinking on a broad enough scale... there really is a huge potential for abuse there... that is a topic that is so incredibly taboo in our society, that the government could very easily make people feel guilty for trying to protect their civil liberties, which according to them, makes it harder for them to "catch the bad guys"...

very interesting indeed...