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One hundred four years of editorial freedom

Monday
February 13, 1995

Eaker denied bond; hearing date set

Reporters
eflock to A2
"~ 4
in media
free-for-all
By Patience Atkin
wily Staff Reporter
As David Cahill, an attorney de-
fending LSA sophomore Jake Baker,
left a University hearing Friday, he
was surrounded by reporters from The
Ann Arbor News and The Michigan
Daily.
The local media were joined by
reporters from The Detroit News, The
Detroit Free Press, WDIV-TV (Chan-
nel 4), WXYZ-TV (Channel 7),
*VKBD-TV (Channel 50), CNN and
Time magazine.
Media coverage began with a Feb.
4 Ann Arbor News article that said
the University suspended Baker for
naming a female student as the victim
in a slasher story he posted on the
Internet.
By Tuesday, Time was calling lo-
cal media for information on the case.
9 To University students, the case
may have at first seemed unworthy of
the national spotlight Take Baker was
simply "a little weird," as one student
described him.
The national media began follow-
ing the story after FBI agents arrested
Baker last Thrusday.
The issue of Baker's First Amend-
ment rights is essential to the media.
"It obviously can point out the
*lurry-lined, gray area between free
speech and the right to privacy," said
Wendy Cole, who is covering the
story for Time. "The ACLU has raised
this too, that the University's been
very aggressive in what might appear
to be censorship or invading ~his
(Baker's) right to free speech."
Although alleged violations of free
speech occur relatively often in the
*ews, Baker's case is of special inter-
est to the media.
Maryanne George, a Detroit Free
Press reporter, cites the "debate be-
tween free speech and whether it's a
threat for the woman's safety" as the
main reason the Free Press has taken

he
of Jake Baker
LSA sophomore Jake Baker
was arrested last week by
FBI agents. He has been
suspended by the
University. Here is how the
case developed:

, b..

i

91
r ,

December and January: Baker transmits e-mail messages to a ma
in Ontario describing the kidnapping, rape and murder of women.
Jan. 9: A story detailing the abduction, torture, rape and murder of
woman with the'name of a female University student was posted
on the Internet in an area designated for such stories, the FBI
says.
Jan.19: The Department of Public Safety is told about Baker's
activites after a Unviersity alum in Moscow learns of the story by
friend.
Jan. 20: DPS officers contact Baker about the transmission. He waiv
his Miranda rights and admits to writing and posting the stories.
Feb. 2: University President James J. Duderstadt suspends Baker
under Regents Bylaw 2.01.
Feb. 9: FBI agents arrests Baker.for e-mail messages stemming fr
the stories and containing kidnapping plans toan Ontario man.T
FBI files a federal complaint. Baker spends the night in the Wayn
County Jail after being denied bail.
Feb. 10: After a detention hearing, Baker i~s again denied bail. A
defense appeal for bail bond is denied. Pre-trial motions are
scheduled for Feb. 17.
Sources Rand McNally Commercial Atlas and Marketing Guide FBI documents

. Al 9
Cincinnati
3n
t a
( Ann Arbor: Baker, an RG
linguistics major, lived in East
Quad, both years he attended the
* University..
0zDetroit: The federal case will be
heard in U.S. District Court.
es Baker is being held in the Wayne
County Jail.
0. Boardman, 0htd: Baker's
mhometown of more than 38,000
rom is a suburb of Youngstown.
The
ne
Title 18 U.S. Code, Sec. 875(c):
".., knowingly transmit a, threat to
injure the person of another in
interstate and foreign commerce,,...
JONATHAN BERNDT/D
d will be said. "But I think as more is emergin
Ankeny, about the other things he did, o
vs. needs to sort of take stock a little b
so pique about who's in the wrong here."
)le who Each news item about the ca
iways a uses different lingo. The terms us
't make to describe Baker's message rang
from the Detroit Free Press's "fa
ner said. tasy" to The New York Times' "sex
lities of ally violent fiction" to USA Today
at in the "cyber-threats."
rawn to The media are also hunting f
because clues into Baker's character. The An
ly sepa- Arbor News interviewed Baker
" mother, and WKBD interviewed TI
the me- Detroit News' deputy city editor o
the case. air to ask from where Baker's "rage
ved said women" comes.
heir ob- Although the media have not y
focused on the University student wh
quick to was named in Baker's message, th
he other
y," Cole See MEDIA, Page

Student judged
'too dangerous'

to be released

By Josh White
Daily Staff Reporter
One federal judge deemed 20-
year-old Jake A. Baker "too danger-
ous for society" and another called
him "a ticking bomb waiting to go
off' last Friday in denying him bail
bond and ordering him to be detained
in jail until pre-trial motions, which
are scheduled for this Friday.
Baker, an LSA sophomore, is ac-
cused under Title 18 U.S. Code, sec.
865 (c) of transmitting threats of kid-
nap, torture, rape and murder across
state lines via the Internet, and both
Judge Bernard A. Friedman and Mag-
istrate Judge Thomas A. Carlson con-
sidered those threats dangerous to a
University student mentioned in
Baker's posting and to the commu-
nity at large.
"I would not want my daughter on
the streets of Ann Arbor or Ohio with
a man in the condition I believe he is
in right now," Friedman said in an
airy appeal bond hearing Friday afternoon.
The charges stem from stories
ng Baker, a Boardman, Ohio native.
ne posted on the Internet newsgroup
bit "alt.sex.stories" and several e-mail
messages he sent to a man known as
se Arthur Gonda in Ontario.
ed Baker's attorney, Douglas
ge MullkOff, said the detention of his
n- client is unwarranted.
u- "The court is presuming that he is
's guilty," Mullkoff said. "I respectfully
disagree with every word the judge
or said. Mr. Baker was writing fiction in
nn a fiction area of the Internet."
s During Baker's appeal hearing
he Friday afternoon, Mullkoff drew a
n- similar picture. "We have a fantasy
at writers' workshop going on here," he
said. "That is the Internet."
'et Carlson, who presided over the
ho first detention hearing Friday, said
eir there is no freedom of speech issue
involved in the case because Baker
3 made specific threats to a specific


Mulikoff

interest in the story.
Paul Manzella, the managing edi-
tor for WDIV in Detroit, said, "It also
goes to the issue of what constitutes
free speech and what constitutes un-
reasonable threats."
The media also take interest in the
Internet aspect of the story. Baker
faces prosecution under a 1994 law,
and some in the media are labeling his
case "precedent-setting."
Cole said, "The existing laws
would seem to cover it, but there are
other people that are pointing out that
the potential for threatening people
might be greater - it might seem like
you can get away with it more easily
if you don't identify yourself."
That issue could have a profound
effect on the future of the global com-
puter network.
"When you look at the number of
those who have access to the Internet,

the way that system is controlle
a paramount issue." said Robert
a reporter for The Detroit Nev
More subjective issues al
the media's interest. "Peop
make threats in society are a
concern to people who don
threats,' Manzella said.
WXYZ reporter Frank Tur
"It's shocking to the sensibi
normal people. I'm saying th
context of why it's being d
national media attention --
it's perverse, but that's total
rate from the criminal issue.'
Most everyone, including
dia, has strong feelings about t
However, the reporters involi
they are trying to maintain t
jectivity.
"Everybody's been veryc
come down on one side or ti
before they know the full stor

Michigan Party slate taps
two assembly outsiders

woman in e-mail messages to Gonda.
Additional evidence admitted at the
hearing also pointed to a more "in-
depth plan" to abduct the woman,
Carlson said.
"If we only had a story of rape and
torture, we would have the issue of
the First Amendment here," Carlson
said Friday. "But there are at least two
additional elements to the case. Mr.
Baker named an individual at the U-
M as a subject of his story and had
discussion with another person about
where and how an actual assault could
be carried out. This is more than just
writing a story."
U.S. Attorney Ken Chadwell en-
tered six documents into evidence as
part of the case against Baker. Three
of the documents were stories that
Baker had posted on the Internet, two
were batches of e-mail messages to
and from Gonda and one, a previ-
See BAKER, Page 2
Brewer to
head state
Dem.Party
DETROIT (AP) - Democratic
Party attorney Mark Brewer won un-
opposed election yesterday as the new
chairman of the state party as leaders
tried to energize it to rebound from
last year's election debacle.
"We all know we have a tough
road ahead, a tough hill to climb,"
U.S. Rep. David Bonior of Mount
Clemens told about 2,000 delegates
meeting in convention at Detroit's
Cobo Hall.
"It's time to get off our duffs, get
on our feet and fight for the values we
believe in," he said.
Brewer's election by acclama-
tion capped a weekend in which
leaders stressed the need to recruit
new party members, work together
and broaden the party's base. There
was no other candidate yesterday
for the $80,000-a-year, two-year job,
although several had explored the
possibility.
Brewer's first move as chairman
was to exhort delegates to leave
their seats in their own districts and
meet members from other districts
- which led to delegates circulat-
ing about the vast hall. In his accep-
tance speech, he pledged to consult

0

By Amy Klein
Daily Staff Reporter
In an unprecedented party move,
the Michigan Party executive slate
for the Michigan Student Assembly
*lections features two candidates who
have never held assembly seats.
LSA juniors Flint Wainess and
Sam Goodstein will run for president
and vice president, respectively.
"We've definitely been externally
involved in MSA in the past, but I
don't think that's going to be detri-
mental," Wainess said.
Wainess and Goodstein shared the
sition of Editorial Page editor of
he Michigan Daily for the past year.
Their terms as editors ended Jan. 27.
"We think it's a natural progres-
sion to go from the Daily to MSA. We
have supported the Michigan Party's
ideas over the past two years. Now we
are ready to bring those ideas to frui-
tion," Goodstein said.
Engineering junior Brian Elliott
,nd LSA first-year student Fiona Rose

are candidates for president and vice
president on the Students' Party ticket.
Elliott said he was surprised by the
Michigan Party's slate.
"We expected a current student
assembly member. They had a pool of
potential candidates on the assembly
just as we did," Elliott said. "Maybe
this says that they don't have a lot of
leadership within the assembly."
Rose expressed concern that the
Michigan Party ticket reflects a ho-
mogeneous student population.
"It bothers me they're running two
white males. It makes me wonder
how effective they'll be in reaching
out to minorities," Rose said.
Goodstein said the University's
diversity will be represented on the
rest of the party's slate. "The Michi-
gan Party is dedicated to promoting
diversity. We have a very diverse
slate with both genders and various
minority groups," he said.
MSA President Julie Neenan, a
Michigan Party member, said Wainess

and Goodstein will focus on the issues.
"They're more well-versed in stu-
dent issues than the rest of the student
body. I was surprised to see how much
they knew and how eager they were to
learn," Neenan said.
Wainess and Goodstein plan to
introduce new plans and ideas. In-
creasing student access to MSA by
placing agendas and information on-
line as well as improving student
health care coverage are issues that
will emerge during the campaign.
"The Michigan Party has success-
fully removed national political ide-
ologies from MSA's debate and fo-
cused MSA on important campus is-
sues, but there is still much to be
done. Flint and I hope to infuse this
increasingly successful organization
with new ideas from new leaders,"
Goodstein said.
Wainess and Goodstein plan to
expand the scope of effort the Michi-
gan Party's made during the past year.
"We definitely differ on some

STEPHANIE GRACE LIM/Daily
LSA juniors Sam Goodstein and Flint Walness are running on the Michigan
Party ticket. Neither candidate currently holds a seat on MSA.

things with Julie and (MSA Vice Presi-
dent Jacob Stem), but on the whole
they've done a satisfactory job,"
Goodstein said. "We'll not only build
on their issues, but also infuse ideas
of our own."
The candidates say they will work
for increased protection of student
rights by proposing amendments to
the Statement of Student Rights and
Responsibilities, the University's

code of non-academic conduct.
Another long-time issue for MSA
is fight for student representation on
the University Board of Regents in an
ex-officio capacity.
"I know what (Vice President for
Student Affairs) Maureen Hartford's
proposal says, and the Michigan Party
will not support anything that only
gives students rights that they already
have," Wainess said.


Partisan debate continues on Surgeon General nominee

WASHINGTON (AP) --- The

blasted the White

While his selection dominated TV

in2 from Alabama to Tennessee in the

But the steady drip of revelations


--ilmf Aet -i of rveti