Justice-by-algorithm is all the rage across the United States — and it is soon to sweep into Colorado. That is, unless judges, lawyers, state legislators and the public get wise to the reality behind this so-called better system of criminal justice. Using big data, fancy math and computers, the premiseRead More →
As bail reformers continue to their push to implement group-data based criminal justice algorithms to decide bail and conditions of release, the push back against them continues to gain momentum. This time, in conservative Idaho, a group of bipartisan legislators have introduced legislation to end “black-box” algorithms and require thatRead More →
El Paso County is in the process of reforming its bail system. In fact, it recently hired former Mesa County Colorado Criminal Justice Services Manager Joel Bishop to implement a new bail system that moves away from the use of monetary bail and toward a system where release and conditionsRead More →
On December 28, 2018, a petition was filed by Nevada Chief Justice James Hardesty to adopt a statewide requirement that all judges in Nevada utilize a validated risk assessment tool for use in pretrial decision-making. The petition was based on the recommendation by the Committee to Study Evidence-Based Pretrial Release.Read More →
North Dakota Poised to Waste $750,000 on Pretrial Services Pilot Projects, only to Waste More Dollars Long-Term, Thereby Rejecting Much More Cost-Beneficial Spending on Criminal Justice Reforms and Crime Prevention The opioid crisis is alive and well in the United States, and also in North Dakota. CHI St. Alexius EmergencyRead More →
Required Signatures are Certified by Secretary of State; Controversial Law that Would Ban Cash Bail Now Goes to Voters in November 2020 Election FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Lakewood, CO (January 16, 2019) – The campaign to overturn California Senate Bill 10, which would have abolished cash bail, cleared a critical hurdle today whenRead More →
Former Enron Executive Takes Credit for the Last 20 Years of Successes of New Jersey Criminal Justice Reform, Thereby Insulting All of the Bipartisan Good Work that Has Been Done by Others for Over a Generation As some statistics start to unfold in New Jersey post bail reform, reformers areRead More →
The Los Angeles Daily Journal recently published an article, entitled “Analysis of LA County Pretrial Risk Assessment Tools Raises Questions,” where data scientists discovered that the risk assessment tool being used in Los Angeles County, California was ineffective and labeled so many persons as high risk that it would beRead More →
JUSTICE_BY_ALGORITHM: Rejected by Iowa Judges There has been a lot of talk about the use of a pretrial risk assessment tool, a criminal justice algorithm, in deciding who gets bail in Iowa and what conditions of release to which a defendant will be subjected. In fact, there is currently underRead More →
The ACLU of North Carolina is advocating for sweeping changes in the pretrial release of criminal defendants. Yes, bail reform fever has come to the Tar Heel State and the North Carolina chapter of the ACLU wants it bad. They point to the success of the MacArthur Foundation funded programRead More →
