Jake Baker
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''United States v. Alkhabaz'', 104 F.3d 1492 (6th Cir. 1997) was a case brought against
University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
undergraduate Abraham Jacob Alkhabaz, a.k.a. Jake Baker, related to several incidents regarding snuff stories that he wrote while he was a student at the
University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
. Alkhabaz was charged with violation of 18 U.S.C. s 875(c), communicating via interstate or foreign commerce threats to kidnap or injure another person. The case raised immediate
First Amendment First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
concerns and is considered an important one in the history of cyber law.


Background

Jake Baker (born March 1974; given name Abraham Jacob Alkhabaz) was a student at the
University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
College for Literature, Science, and Arts. In October 1994, Jake Baker started submitting pornographic stories depicting fantasies of
rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...
,
torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...
, and
murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...
to the
alt.sex.stories alt.sex.stories is a Usenet newsgroup for erotic stories created on May 7, 1992, by Tim Pierce as an alternative to pre-existing alt erotica newsgroups. The group was initially unmoderated, a feature that was not shared by some of the other Usen ...
Usenet Usenet () is a worldwide distributed discussion system available on computers. It was developed from the general-purpose Unix-to-Unix Copy (UUCP) dial-up network architecture. Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979, and it was ...
group. On January 9, 1995, Baker submitted a story to alt.sex.stories detailing a fantasy about the
rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...
,
torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...
, and
murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...
of one of his classmates using her real name; the prosecution and both the district court and appellate court used the pseudonym "Jane Doe" to protect her privacy.''U.S. v. Alkhabaz'', 104 F.3d. at 1498. Baker's story was brought to the attention of
University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
authorities and he was arrested, determined to be a threat to the subject of his story as well as the rest of the student population. During the serving of a search warrant upon Baker's computer, University of Michigan police found several stories depicting rape, torture, and murder genre favored by Baker. They also found emails to a Canadian by the name of Arthur Gonda, depicting rape, torture, and murder. Their communications also began detailing a plan for the two men to meet and engage in a real-life depiction of their fantasies to rape, torture, and murder. On February 9, 1995 Baker was arrested by the
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
and he was later indicted for six counts of violating 18 U.S.C. § 875(c), which prohibits interstate communications containing threats to kidnap or injure another person. Five of the counts were determined by emails between Baker and Gonda. The sixth count was determined from the story about "Jane Doe."


Bail hearing

The Magistrate Judge ordered Baker detained as a danger to the community and a United States District Court affirmed his detention. Upon Baker's motion to be released on bond, this Court ordered a psychological evaluation. When the evaluation concluded that Baker posed no threat to the community, this Court ordered Baker's release.


Case resolution

One of the counts - communicating a threat by publishing the story about "Jane Doe" on the Internet - was dropped against Baker. On June 21, 1995, the case against Baker was dismissed by Judge
Avern Cohn Avern Levin Cohn (July 23, 1924 – February 4, 2022) was a Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Personal life Cohn was born in Detroit, Michigan, to Irwin I. and Sadie L ...
due to lack of evidence that Baker would actually act out his fantasies. The Government appealed this decision, and on January 29, 1997, the 6th U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the decision of the lower court.


Controversy

Free speech advocates state that the Government violated Jake Baker's
First Amendment First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
right to
free speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The rights, right to freedom of expression has been ...
by charging him with a crime for writing stories. Others defended the Government's case by stating that Baker's stories were filth, snuff, and that Baker was intending to act on them. Baker stated that his stories were created as a form of therapy - so that he could act out his anger in a "harmless", legal way. Baker also stated that he was
role playing Role-playing or roleplaying is the changing of one's behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role. While the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' offers a definition of role-playing a ...
within his emails to Gonda, and that he did not intend to act on his fantasies. This case was not only about obscenity and threats, but it was being watched by
Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
advocates, namely that his stories were published over a wide medium, and that since the Internet is a medium beyond borders, that state even federal level laws were not able to be applied to it. Baker was charged with communicating a threat over interstate lines - a charge that may have not been able to hold, other than the fact that Baker published his stories and corresponded over the Internet. It has also been said that this case set a precedent for free speech on the Internet.


Timeline

*January 20, 1995 - DPS officers contact Baker. Baker waives his
Miranda rights In the United States, the ''Miranda'' warning is a type of notification customarily given by police to criminal suspects in police custody (or in a custodial interrogation) advising them of their right to silence and, in effect, protection fr ...
and admits to writing and posting the stories. DPS officers search Baker's room and account with his permission, finding an unpublished story and the e-mail conversations. *February 2, 1995 - University President Duderstadt suspends Baker on the grounds that he is an immediate threat to the woman named in his story. *February 9, 1995 - FBI arrests Baker on basis of his stories and e-mail to Gonda. Bail is denied on the belief that he is too dangerous to release, as determined by a
judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...
. Baker charged with violating 18 U.S.C. s 875(c). *February 10, 1995 - After a detention hearing, Baker is again denied bail by a different judge. A defense appeal for bail bond is denied. Probable cause hearing scheduled for 2/17/95. Baker's lawyer appeals no-bail ruling to 6th Circuit Court in
Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
. *February 15, 1995 - Baker indicted by grand jury, negating need for probable cause hearing. *February 17, 1995 - Baker arraigned, pleads not guilty. *March 7, 1995 - Baker's bond denied by 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati. *March 9, 1995 - Baker released on $10,000 bond by Judge Avern Cohn. *March 15, 1995 - Baker charge based on story dropped, Baker charged with 5 counts based on e-mail with Gonda. *June 21, 1995 - Charges against Baker dismissed in a ruling by Judge Avern Cohn. Cohn cited lack of evidence that Baker would act out his fantasies. *July 19, 1995 - Government files "notice of intent to appeal" the dismissal of the
indictment An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a legal person, person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felony, felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concep ...
. Government now has less than 7 months to appeal the ruling. *November 21, 1995 - Government files appeal of dismissal. The United States Court of Appeals may take months to decide the case. If the appeal is successful, the case will be brought back to the District Court for trial. *August 16, 1996 - 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals hears the government's appeal. *January 29, 1997 - The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upholds the dismissal of charges against Baker, ruling that the e-mail messages did not constitute a credible threat.


Cites

This case has been cited in various cases regarding
free speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The rights, right to freedom of expression has been ...
protection and the Internet.


Notes


Further reading

* Platt, Charles. (1997). ''Anarchy Online''. New York: Eos. 367 p. Chapter 5: Threatening Behavior: The Jake Baker Case.


External links


Jake Baker Information Page
''MIT SAFE Archive''. *
"Legal Cases - Jake Baker, the U. of Michigan, & the FBI" Archive
at the
Electronic Frontier Foundation The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is an international non-profit digital rights group based in San Francisco, California. The foundation was formed on 10 July 1990 by John Gilmore, John Perry Barlow and Mitch Kapor to promote Internet ci ...

"">"Grandstaff "
by Jake Baker, ''alt.sex.stories'' (
Usenet Usenet () is a worldwide distributed discussion system available on computers. It was developed from the general-purpose Unix-to-Unix Copy (UUCP) dial-up network architecture. Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979, and it was ...
newsgroup), January 9, 1995. (Archived at Google Groups) – Original Usenet posting upon which the case was based.
Google Groups archive of author kia...@umich.edu
(Jake Baker) *

', June 21, 1995. – Full text of decision. *

', January 29, 1997. – Full text of decision.

by Adam S. Miller, ''Trincoll Journal'', April 6, 1995.

''NoStatusQuo.com''.
Policing the Internet: Jake Baker and beyond
(conference), University of Michigan, March 10, 1995, ''Michigan Telecommunications and Technology Law Review Archives''. {{DEFAULTSORT:United States V. Baker United States Free Speech Clause case law United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit cases