Tribe's diatribe

[Edward A Hartnett]

There are a couple of other remarkable things about Tribe's "diatribe":

First, he completely ignores that the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure
specifically authorize the issuance of a warrant for the search and seizure of a
person who is unlawfully detained.

Second, he asserts that the only purpose of search warrants is to search for
evidence of crime.  This turns history on its head.  Prior to 1967, search
warrants under the 4th amendment could only be used for the fruits and
instrumentalities of crime, such as the stolen property or the burglary tools
-- not for mere evidence.  A person being illegally detained is far closer to
the classic "fruit" of a crime than most evidence currently seized under search
warrants.

Finally, there _was_ an arrest warrant for Elian -- an INS administrative arrest
warrant based on his immigration status and the revocation of his parole -- not
a criminal arrest warrant.

Is Tribe seriously suggesting that the Justice Department should have obtained a
_criminal_ arrest warrant for Elian?  That strikes me as nonsensical.

Ed Hartnett
Seton Hall