[NYTr] Brit Pentagon hacker in legal victory

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

sent by MichaelP

[This Brit.hacker is alleged to have broken into NASA and U$ military 
sites, and the U$ asserts the right to extradite him to the U$ for
trial in federal court.  He lost lower-court requests to block
extradition, but he argued for, and won, reconsideration by the House
of Lords - the supreme judicial decision maker. There is no right for
appeals to this highest court to be accepted - that's why having the
appeal considered is a legal victory. -M.]


The Register - Jul 31, 2007
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/07/31/lords_mckinnon_appeal/

MCKINNON EARNS LORDS APPEAL

By John Leyden

Gary  McKinnon, the British hacker facing extradition over allegations
he broke into US Military and NASA sites, has earned the right to take
his case to the House of Lords.

The law Lords agreed to hear arguments that US authorities acted in an 
"oppressive"   and   "arbitrary"   manner   during   plea   bargaining 
negotiations,  for  example by allegedly threatening McKinnon over the 
loss  of  rights  to  serve  part  of his sentence in the UK unless he 
submitted to voluntary extradition.

The House of Lords was not bound to consider McKinnon's final appeal -
for example  it  declined  to  hear  the  appeal of the NatWest Three
bankers, so  the Lords' decision is a significant fillip for McKinnon
and his legal team.

"Gary  McKinnon  is delighted to learn of this important development,"
his barrister, Ben Cooper of Charter chambers, told The Guardian.

McKinnon is fighting against extradition to the US on hacking offences 
after  losing an appeal in April. Only the Law Lords now stand between
the Scot and a US trial for allegedly breaking into and damaging 97 US 
government  computers  between  2001 and 2002 and causing an estimated 
$700,000 worth of damage, in what US authorities have described as the 
"biggest military" computer hack ever.

The  former  sys  admin,  who  lives  in London, admits he infiltrated 
computer  systems  without  permission but disputes the seriousness US 
authorities attach to his attacks.

The 41-year-old has said he gained access to military networks - using
a Perl script to search for default passwords - but describes himself
as  a bumbling  amateur motivated by curiosity about evidence of UFOs
rather than a cyberterrorist.

McKinnon  and  his  team  have consistently argued that he ought to be 
tried  in the UK. No date has been set for the House of Lords hearing.
In the meantime, McKinnon remains on bail.

                             ***

The Register - May 30, 2007
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/05/30/mckinnon_appeal_latest/

JUDGES DEFINE SCOPE OF MCKINNON APPEAL

Arguing a legal point again

By John Leyden

Accused   Pentagon  hacker   Gary  McKinnon's  final  appeal  against
extradition  edged forward  on  Tuesday  after judges defined the two
points that might merit consideration by the Law Lords.

The  Administrative  Court  (one  of  the  High  Courts) certified two 
questions  of  being  of  public  importance in the McKinnon case. The 
first  point  ise  the  status of a diplomatic note confirming that Mr 
McKinnon   will   not   be  treated  as  a  terrorist  under  military 
jurisdiction  and  the conduct of the US government in plea bargaining 
negotiations.

The  second  is the claim that the US tried to twist McKinnon's arm by 
saying  if he failed to cop a plea and submit to voluntary extradition
he would lose the opportunity to be repatriated and serve part of his 
sentence in the UK.

The  House of Lords is not bound to consider McKinnon's final appeal -
for example  it  declined  to  hear  the  appeal of the NatWest Three
bankers. Tuesday's development clarifies the topics to be explored if
the Lords decide to hear McKinnon's case.

After  losing  an  appeal  in  the High Court last month, only the Law 
Lords now stand between McKinnon and a US trial for allegedly breaking 
into  and  damaging  97 US government computers between 2001 and 2002. 
McKinnon  caused  an  estimated  $700,000  worth of damage, in what US 
authorities  have  described  as  the "biggest military" computer hack 
ever.

The  former  sys  admin,  who  lives  in London, admits he infiltrated 
computer  systems  without  permission but disputes the seriousness US 
authorities  attach  to  his  attacks.  The 41-year-old said he gained 
access  to  military  networks  -  using  a  Perl script to search for 
default  passwords  -  but  describes  himself  as  a bumbling amateur 
motivated   by   curiosity  about  evidence  of  UFOs  rather  than  a 
cyberterrorist.