Once a person has a criminal defense lawyer, the government should only communicate through that lawyer. It should never go behind the lawyer’s back and attempt to continue to interrogate the client. Doing so is a violation of the Sixth Amendment’s right to counsel in...
Criminal Defense
10 principles for reducing mass incarceration
In the United States, we incarcerate more of our population than any other country in the world. In fact, while the U.S. makes up less than 5% of the world’s population, it is responsible for locking up almost 25% of all the prisoners in the world. Even if the system...
License suspension keeps people from paying off court debt
If your driver’s license were suspended, what would you do? What could you afford to do? You’re not allowed to drive on a suspended license, but you have to get to work. Could you afford to take a Lyft or Uber every day? Is there public transportation? Could you...
How can we prevent race discrimination in jury selection?
Among the many pressing problems in our criminal justice system is the reality that prosecutors sometimes try to prevent people of color from serving on juries. The reasoning must be that people of color are more likely to be anti-police or pro-defense than white...
Bail reform is actually working, but the story isn’t getting through, especially in election season
By now you have almost certainly seen many election ads scaring people about any candidate who advocates bail reform. They are accused of wanting to put killers and rapists on the streets to commit more crime. Paired with sometimes misleading crime statistics, these...
‘Fog Reveal’ tool allows police to know your full location history
Do you want the police to keep a record of everywhere you’ve ever been? It would be awfully convenient for the police to have that information. Law enforcement could simply make a list of places where illegal things are likely to happen or where certain people are not...
What will President Biden’s executive order on policing tactics do?
Recently, President Joe Biden signed an executive order meant, among other things, to restrict some of the more controversial tactics used by police. The order only applies federal law enforcement, but it could be used as a model for states to provide better...
Why is discredited forensic science still being used as evidence?
In 2009, a committee of the prestigious National Research Council (NRC) published a report for Congress that shocked the entire criminal justice system. Congress had asked the NRC to evaluate the scientific underpinnings of commonly used forensic evidence and suggest...
Does releasing people before trial drive up crime rates?
When deciding who needs to remain in jail as they await trial, courts in most states should consider two things. First, is the person a danger to the community? If they are, pre-trial detention may be justified. Second, is the person a flight risk? In other words, how...
Reports: Feds eager to buy predictive policing, phone-cracking tech
There is good reason to believe that predictive policing software simply reinforces past, biased information to predict crime. It is certainly under heavy scrutiny, as it seeks to predict in advance exactly who will commit crimes. It’s the subject of dystopian...