PN>      On October 18, 1995, Thomas A. Busey, then Chief of the
PN> National Firearms Act Branch of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and
PN> Firearms (hereafter "BATF") made a videotaped training presentation
PN> to BATF Headquarters personnel during a roll call training session.
PN> "Roll call training" is weekly or periodic in-house training for
PN> BATF officials -- a routine show-and-tell whereby bureaucrats learn
PN> about each other's duties and functions.
PN>      Busey's National Firearms Act Branch administers the National
PN> Firearms Act of 1934, [footnote 1] the taxation and regulatory
PN> scheme governing machineguns, silencers, short-barrelled rifles and
PN> shotguns, destructive devices, etc.  In his capacity of NFA Branch
PN> Chief Busey was the official custodian of the National Firearms
PN> Registration and Transfer Record (hereafter "NFR&TR") mandated by 26
PN> U.S.C.  5841.
PN>      Every prosecution and forfeiture action brought by the United
PN> States and involving an allegedly unregistered NFA firearm requires
PN> testimony under oath by a duly-authorized custodian of the NFR&TR
PN> that after a diligent search of the official records of which he/she
PN> is custodian, no record of the registration of the firearm in
PN> question was found (or was found but showed a different registrant
PN> than the person being prosecuted). [footnote 2] An alternative
PN> method of proving the same facts is by admission into evidence of a
PN> certified copy under official Treasury Department seal of a similar
PN> written declaration by the custodian. [footnote 3] This is a
PN> critical element of the government's proof and, according to Busey,
PN> occurred 880 times in 1995 alone (presumably Fiscal Year 1995).
PN>      Busey began his roll call presentation by acknowledging that
PN> "Our first and main responsibility is to make accurate entries and
PN> to maintain accuracy of the NFRTR...."  Moments later Busey makes
PN> the astonishing statement that
PN>          ... when we testify in court, we testify that the data
PN>     base is 100 percent accurate.  That's what we testify to, and
PN>     we will always testify to that.  As you probably well know,
PN>     that may not be 100 percent true.
    _No_ database is 100% accurate, but that's different from what the courts 
may care about: "true to the best of your knowledge" is the rule.
PN> How bad was the error rate in the NFR&TR? Busey again:
PN>          ... when I first came in a year ago, our error rate was
PN>     between 49 and 50 percent, so you can imagine what the accuracy
PN>     of the NFRTR could be, if your error rate's 49 to 50 percent.
    Sounds like the IRS toll-free helpline...error-ridden not by intent but 
by incompetence.
PN>      After much tooing and froing with a dismayed Department of
PN> Justice a transcript of the Busey tape was sent to me in February
PN> 1996.  The Department of Justice was dismayed because the Busey tape
PN> was clearly Brady material.  Every defense lawyer knows that under
PN> the Supreme Court's 1963 decision in Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83,
PN> the government is required in all criminal prosecutions to provide
PN> the defense, in advance of trial, with any evidence tending to show
PN> the defendant's innocence.  Failure to do so can result in dismissal
PN> of an indictment, reversal of a conviction, or other sanctions.
    BATF's in-house mess makes their whole job difficult.
--- Simplex BBS (v1.07.00Beta [DOS])
(1:3644/8)
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