[LINK] lies, damn lies, and 31,000 pages

[Roger Clarke]

>Roger Clarke wrote:
>>  And as for the Magistrate's behaviour ...  ('Oh, challenge my 
>>independence, would you?  Well I'll need 48 hours to consider your 
>>submission;  and your client can sweat it out, and you can't do a 
>>thing about it.  Serves you right for being impertinent'.)
>
At 10:32 +1000 12/7/07, Howard Lowndes wrote:
>The last detention grant had the codicil that they couldn't question 
>him during it.  I wonder if that still applies during this 
>adjournment now that that grant has in fact expired.

My understanding is that the law allows long-period detention, but 
only 24 hours of interrogation during that period;  and they've 
already used 12 (and apparently not got very far, even though he had 
no legal representation at the time - which was possibly his choice); 
and they're saving up the other 12 hours until they've found more and 
can interrogate more effectively.

I have no trouble with multiple, successive interrogations, and with 
restraints on his movements, and on who he can make contact with. 
The bloke could be completely innocent of everything except having 
some ratbag relations;  but there's smoke around, it's an important 
matter, and a careful investigation is fully warranted.

But the law enforcement agencies appear to be incapable of providing 
any evidence of anything.  Detention beyond 24 hours, without 
justification using uncontrolled powers unprecedented in common-law 
countries since the 13th century (possible caveat needed re 
war-time), is simply repugnant to the notion of a free country.

-- 
Roger Clarke                  http://www.anu.edu.au/people/Roger.Clarke/

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Visiting Professor in Info Science & Eng  Australian National University
Visiting Professor in the eCommerce Program      University of Hong Kong
Visiting Professor in the Cyberspace Law & Policy Centre      Uni of NSW