[3216] in cryptography@c2.net mail archive
Re: Armchair lawyers and customs searchs.
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Black Unicorn)
Fri Aug 21 18:34:05 1998
Date: Fri, 21 Aug 1998 14:02:36 -0500
To: Steve Bellovin <smb@research.att.com>
From: Black Unicorn <unicorn@schloss.li>
Cc: cryptography@c2.net
In-Reply-To: <199808211704.NAA11504@postal.research.att.com>
At 01:04 PM 8/21/98 -0400, you wrote:
>> I would like to see UK Customs and Excise prove that a slightly hissy
>> WAV file is really porn :-)
>
>It's worth bearing in mind that in most countries -- and certainly
>in the U.S. -- until you have cleared Customs and Immigration, you
>are legally not in the country, and the normal protections of
>the law do not apply. They don't have to "prove" things per the
>usual standards of "beyond a reasonable doubt" -- they just have
>to believe it. And if you're not a citizen, watch out -- you can
>just be excluded from the country.
This is, of course, legal nonsense.
The unusually wide reach of customs authority in most counties is based on
explicit statute or longtime practice evolving into common law. I have no
idea what prompted you to use the term "beyond a reasonable doubt" (the
burden of proof in a criminal trial) in place of the actual standards
typically used for things like search and seizure "reasonable suspicion"
and "probable cause" but I can only suspect it is the brand of ignorance
that is as dangerous as it is annoying to people who really know what they
are talking about. Specifically, "I-watched-every-episode-of-LA-Law"
ignorance.
If indeed one was legally not in the destination country until one cleared
customs, a possession of narcotics charge would be thrown out for want of
jurisdiction of the arrival authorities. In this case no crime would have
been committed in their jurisdiction and therefore there would be nothing
to prosecute, unless perhaps one would like to make a conspiracy charge,
but in that case a foreign national, unless conspiring with a citizen of
the destination country, would also be scott free.
Please return your "First-kid-on-the-block-to have-a law-degree" novelty
parchment to the frosted flakes box. It's not suitable for framing.
