| From: | sfeley@*****.com (Stephen Eley) |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Legal Magic |
| Date: | Tue, 16 Aug 2005 19:35:02 -0400 |
>
> "What 5th Amendment rights? This is *insert megacorp name here*, we
> don't give a frag about the UCAS Constitution, we're based out of
> Japan... of course, their laws don't really apply to us, either. So,
> you have the right to tell us everything, and we have the right to
> keep your face intact for the funeral if we think you're holding
> back..."
Yeah, sure. But in a situation like that, no one really gives a frag
whether you *actually* cast a Force 5 spell or not. In the absence of
a clear judicial process, they can toss you in prison for it whether
you're guilty or not -- because they couldn't catch the real guy and
needed a scapegoat, because they wanted you for some other reason, or
just because they feel like it.
> Even with 5th Amendment rights, I would suspect that there's basis for
> using Mind Probes to discover such things. It'd be a specialized kind
> of warrant to enter a mage's mind and check for 'possession of
> contraband material' (ie, knowledge of a fireball spell)
I doubt it -- at least not legally. The political opposition could
whip up a hell of a media storm about that. ("Whose mind will be
invaded next? IT COULD BE YOURS! So vote next Tuesday for Bigg
McLargeHuge, the man with enough brains already.")
Now, what they did to you *illegally* behind closed doors, or
somewhere on a remote military base in the Caribbean League -- that's
a totally different story. The original question was only about
what's legal and what isn't, not what people could get away with.
--
Have Fun,
Steve Eley (sfeley@*****.com)
ESCAPE POD - the SF podcast magazine
http://escape.extraneous.org
