back to article Judge blasts Cisco's 'unmitigated gall' in ex-exec's arrest

A Canadian judge has lambasted Cisco for its "unmitigated gall" and "duplicity" in goading US prosecutors to push for the public arrest of a former executive who was suing the US networking giant. Justice Ronald McKinnon's comments were made on Tuesday when he ordered a stay in the extradition of the ex-exec, Peter Alfred- …

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  1. Eddy Ito
    Big Brother

    Coward

    "Judge blasts Cisco's 'unmitigated gall' in ex-exec's arrest"

    Given the amount of information withheld and misinformation by the US prosecutor, certainly the judge should have also blasted away at them for being puppets and undermining the trust between Canadian and US jurisprudence. I do understand he probably couldn't be too heavy handed as he may have friends or family subject to the prosecutorial whims of the US legal system.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Happy

      >"the trust between Canadian and US jurisprudence"

      I like the way you said that with a straight face!

  2. Bumpy Cat
    Unhappy

    Criminal conduct?

    Surely this shocking behaviour is criminal in some way?! Please don't tell me Cisco and the US prosecutors can just chuckle and say "Whoops, we were caught." ...

    1. Keith T

      e.g. Perjury, filing a false police report, extortion, abuse of process, mischief

      Some possible charges include perjury, filing a false police report, and public mischief.

      But one government lawyer is not going to lay criminal charges against another government lawyer, even if the other government lawyers is from a different country.

      It is the old "Honour amongst thieves" thing that lawyers and police in North America have.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        "contempt of court" the most likely one to come back at them.

        That's something that a judge decides if he/she reckons there has been serious shenanigans going on in their court, and it doesn't require any consent from the prosecutors, which is handy when they are corrupt.

  3. John Gamble

    Didn't Name the Prosecutor

    Who was in charge of this travesty? This American wants to know.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Devil

      Why?

      It is not like he will fail being elected to public office you know. He has shown the appropriate qualities for that.

      1. John Gamble
        Angel

        Because They Never Stop Running

        Because even if he's not a public servant in my jurisdiction, that doesn't mean he won't be affecting me later, either by running for a higher (and more national) office or by influencing other officials.

        Getting knowledge of these guys out in the open is the first line of defense.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    Okay, now what?

    Given these conclusions, now what? Will the guilty parties be allowed to get away with it?

    It seems clear that those involved should be criminally prosecuted and jailed for several years. So? Will it happen? -> Not a chance.

    Rule of law? In your dreams. We (Western society) are at least as corrupt as any 3rd World tin-pot dictatorship. This sort of corrupt garbage just proves it.

    1. Keith T

      In tip pot dictatorships everyone is corrupt

      In tip pot dictatorships everyone is corrupt.

      In western society only some people are corrupt. Sadly the "some" tend to be government employees and legal system insiders.

      Remember the Nuremberg Trials? Only one judge was tried, no Gestapo, no prosecutors, and it was hundreds of judges acting in concert that allowed Hitler to take over and perpetrate his evil.

      The Gestapo stood on street corners directing traffic. They kept their jobs. (Although Churchill reportedly did have a few hundred executed without trial by "hunter killer squads".)

      Meanwhile cooks and mechanics in Waffen SS panzer units were sent to Siberia for 10 years for war crimes.

      Lawyers don't mind prosecuting cooks and mechanics.

  5. sisk

    News flash

    US officials can be easily bought and coerced into damn near anything by rich corporations.

    In other news, it seems that the star Sol will be visible in the sky tomorrow except where cloud cover hides it.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Big Brother

    I guess he's lucky to be alive.

    It would seem that someone at Cisco with influence was playing hard ball. Given the audacity and ability to manipulate the US and Canadian legal authorities, it was probably child's play to arrange whatever physical pressure was required in the prison.

  7. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
    Big Brother

    The US legal system a tool of US corporations?

    Oh no, I would never have suspected it!

    I'm shocked, SHOCKED!

    What is the government doing? Oh wait...

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      I'm confused.

      I thought you favoured a government that did nothing.

      1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge

        Right

        thatsthejoke.jpg

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Funny

          You'ld rather a country where corporations control the legal system?

          Oh wait ...

  8. Keith T
    Megaphone

    Read the Vancouver Sun Article

    It is a real eye opener to the tactics Cisco is willing to stoop to to punish counter parties in business.

  9. Christoph
    WTF?

    Perjury?

    Did they not give this information under some kind of oath that it was to their best of their knowledge truthful? And therefore deliberately lying is perjury or something similar.

    If not then they should be obliged to take such an oath in all future cases, as known liars.

  10. Pypes
    Holmes

    OMG!

    The US justice system complicit in the abuses of power exercised by large corporations? Who would have thought it !

  11. LaeMing
    Flame

    Contempt.

    IANAL, but doesn't this demonstrate a complete contempt for both the law itself and the court system in general. Aren't there specific laws covering that sort of behaviour. Just for a start.

    Books need to be thrown.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Unhappy

      Books certainly should be thrown, but ..

      ... contempt of court can only be applied in a local jurisidction, so unless either the cisco executives or the corrupt prosecutor are daft enough to ever show their asses in canada, they won't ever get taken to court for it.

      [See also: one-way directionality of extradition treaties between the UK and the USA, Gary McKinnon, NatWest Three, etc., etc., etc. Happy to try and apply their own laws extra-territorially; not so happy about living up to the same standards themselves.]

  12. Yes Me Too
    Devil

    Why is this a surprise?

    I don't recall John Chambers ever suggesting that Cisco won't be evil.

  13. Steve J. Rapaport
    Thumb Down

    So what's the punishment for abusing the system to imprison an innocent man?

    If I took some guy and imprisoned him for 28 days, I'd be jailed.

    If I bore false witness against him instead and caused the system to imprison him, I'd be jailed.

    If a corporation and a prosecutor do it, who goes to jail? Corporations have the "rights" of people in the US, but apparently not the responsibilities. And cannot be punished. Hm.

  14. brucegreenwood

    I really worry about our southern neighbor...

    I really worry about our southern neighbor...

    Submitted at

    As a Canadian I have to ask what is happening to the U.S.? With money you can buy a Congressman

    a Senator or a Prosecutor. With money you can buy an election. Is the United States still considered a democracy? Recent history suggests it is becoming more and more a plutocracy. I really cannot believe how rapidly the U.S. is tearing itself apart.

    I highly doubt there will be any repercussions against the prosecutor who is responsible for this travesty.

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Pint

    A Judge called McKinnon refuses extradition,

    while a hacker called McKinnon awaits a decision on extradition...

    Wonder if they're distant relatives?

    Mine's a pint, as it's one to ponder.

  16. nyelvmark
    Devil

    This couldn't happen in Europe.

    How's Julian Assange getting on, by the way?

  17. Anonymous Coward
    Flame

    Why doesn't Canada file perjury charges against the US Prosecuters?

    The Us Prosecutor's filings of false information constitutes perjury. Oh yea. Canada is the US' lap dog.

  18. Anonymous Coward
    Mushroom

    What needs to be done ...

    What needs to be done here, is simple.

    Since the US State Attorneys are so willing to be bought wholesale, the rest of the world needs to do one single thing: Disregard _ANY_ document coming from US sources. They've proven beyond any doubt that we CANNOT trust their documents.

    And this includes us-issued diplomat passports. And US-issued patents, etc.

    The ONLY way to make this stop, is to make sure the COST of this corruption becomes so high that the owners of the government (I hope they got a receipt) take action to stop it. Make US corporations BLEED money over this, and things change. Make sure that US retracts all its soldiers (and blackwater^Wxe mercenaries) to a safe spot inside their own borders. Tell US businessmen to pack their bags and don't come back until they are willing to act civilized. Consider all US money to have nil value (us official documents, per se), etc.

    Good riddance to the entire country.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      FAIL

      As the american owner...

      ...of a small tech manufacturing business that does most of its sales in europe, I am pleased to see that the strength of your 'morals' would leave me, my family, my wife, and my young son destitute. It must be difficult to retain the courage of your convictions in the face of their obviously unfair and outlandish consequences - I wonder, is it ignorance of the results of your own suggestions, trollish petulance, or sheer callousness that gives you such steadfastness?

    2. PershingDriver
      Mushroom

      @ AC 19:00

      "Make sure that US retracts all its soldiers (and blackwater^Wxe mercenaries) to a safe spot inside their own borders."

      Does that include the ones buried there?

      Personally I would love to bring all our people home and let the world fend for itself... How long do you think South Korea, Tawian, Japan, would be safe? How long till Russia invades its western neighbors... oh wait that is already happening. How long till some extreamist pops a nuke in Europe over your interfearance in north africa or the middle east?

      Mean while we can grow enough food and drill enough oil for our needs ... can you?

      1. Inselaf
        Thumb Down

        @ pershingDriver

        I wonder if you have thought about just exactly you have written here:-

        ""Personally I would love to bring all our people home and let the world fend for itself... How long do you think South Korea, Tawian, Japan, would be safe? How long till Russia invades its western neighbors... oh wait that is already happening. How long till some extreamist pops a nuke in Europe over your interfearance in north africa or the middle east?""

        I notice that you forget to mention the fact that your Countries meddling in the affairs of Iraq & Afganistan. The blind support of Israel. Meddling you call what is happening presently in North Africa. Is that the American Government sees no lucrative contacts in the making?

        Your sick comment about one day a Nuke could be thrown into Europe, leaves me to comment that that could happen because our complacent Politicians kow tow to your oh so wonderful Government. I find YOUR comments distasteful & typical of the mindthought of to many of you from the "States"

        I could mention many other examples where American Foreign Policy has caused very much distress & loss to innocent people & Countries. This thread though is not about such things.

  19. Zippy the Pinhead

    The govt loves to get involved

    Just look at all the torrent sites that were illegally seized a few months back.

    Then look at the SF admin who was arrested and charged and fined over what appears to be an employer/employee dispute - still trying to figure out what laws were broken on that one.

    Michigan police arresting people because they were illegally tapping into OPEN wifi networks in coffee shops...

    The list goes on and on

  20. Zippy the Pinhead
    WTF?

    Nice Rebuke from the Judge but it doesn't go far enough

    The Prosecutor should absolutely be brought up on charges of perjury and a request for extradition should be sent to the US!

  21. joe.user
    FAIL

    Connect the Dots

    Cisco counsel and DOJ/DHS counsel. Hmm

  22. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Due diligence

    Was Benton Fraser still in Chicago?

  23. thecakeis(not)alie
    Facepalm

    AMERICA, FUCK YEAH!

    Keep the faith, bro.

  24. Merlinski
    Pirate

    US Police State

    The natural political system for a corporatist state such as the US is fascism.

    As a police state, the US is well on the way to full blown fascism, as evidenced by this story, along with the recent story about a 7 hour immigration ordeal for a bunch of elderly cruise ship passengers for a 1 day excursion in Los Angeles. http://tinyurl.com/3qdac77

    The US also leads the way in locking up its citizens, with nearly 1% of its males currently doing time, and 5% either in jail, on parole or having done time in the past. Europe manages to get by with only locking up 1 in 1,000.

    And that's even before we get onto the travesty of the UK extradition treaties with the US. (Gee, thanks ZANULabour).

    Do not do business with America. Do not go to America. Do not fight wars with Americans. Or you <b>WILL</b> get shafted.

    IMHO, naturally.

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