Settlement in Federal case brought by anonymous blogger that was outed

[Disco Pickle]

http://jacksonville.com/news/2010-10-20/story/first-baptist-blogger-reaches-settlement-city-state

this is local to me, and caused quite a stink when it first went down. 

the officer and SA office that conducted the investigation into his identity obviously overstepped their authority, but will not have to admit to violating his civil rights.

any opinions on how a case like this, had it gone to trial, would have turned out? 

If a verdict against the state for the violation had been allowed to go through, what would this have meant for privacy concerns ?  would the legal precedent set by such a verdict have allowed people more power to fight state intrusion into lives with little to no real evidence of wrong doing?

What's your take PD?

[Disco Pickle]

no one likes talking to with the pickle unless the pickle goes and says something they can argue with.

I was thinking with regard to this post that while the Feds would probably be completely unaffected by a ruling because of the Patriot Act, that local law enforcement and state attorneys offices would be able to be more heavily scrutinized for subpoenas to Internet Providers to facilitate on line surveillance without significant probable cause of wrongdoing.

that could just be a fantasy though.