by Jo Ellen Nott
The First Step Act (“FSA”) is a bipartisan criminal justice bill passed in 2018 to reform federal prisons and sentencing laws to reduce reoffending, decrease the federal prisoner population, and maintain public safety.
The Council on Criminal Justice published the results of an early analysis of ...
by Jo Ellen Nott
Wrongful convictions are a troubling aspect of the criminal justice system in the United States. Most experts estimate the rate of falsely convicted prisoners to be between four and six percent.
Studies report that eyewitness misidentification of strangers is the leading cause of wrongful convictions, contributing ...
by Jo Ellen Nott
Dr. Robert Maher, electric and computer engineer who has researched and studied gunshot acoustics at the University of Montana, published the results of a two-year study on synchronizing and processing audio recordings of gunshots in 2018. His research was sponsored by a National Institute of Justice ...
by Jo Ellen Nott
In a move applauded by privacy advocates, Amazon-owned Ring announced on January 24, 2024, that it will no longer allow police to request doorbell camera footage directly from users through the Request for Assistance (“RFA”) tool on its Neighbors app. However, the company’s broader surveillance practices ...
by Jo Ellen Nott
The New York City Police Department (“NYPD”) has spent millions of dollars of taxpayers’ money buying products from tech company Voyager Labs that claims it can analyze social media to track and even predict crimes. The NYPD’s 2018 contract with Voyager Labs, worth nearly $9 million, ...
by Jo Ellen Nott
An October 2023 study from Iowa State University reveals a troubling trend among firearms experts reporting on cartridge-case comparisons. The authors of the study, Gary Wells and Andrew Smith, state that gun forensic examiners are improperly labeling mismatches as “inconclusive,” potentially concealing evidence that could convict ...
by Jo Ellen Nott
People have long looked to bodies of water as safe places to dispose of and forever hide evidence of their crimes. They believed that by tossing murder weapons or victims into the depths of rivers, lakes, and oceans, they could escape punishment. However, advancements in forensic ...
by Jo Ellen Nott
After months of debate, the Los Angeles City Council approved the donation of a $280,000 robotic police dog in late May of 2023 in a rowdy public meeting that saw disruptive protestors ejected and banners displayed that read “No Robot Dogs.”
The Boston Dynamics robotic canine ...
by Jo Ellen Nott
The Brennan Center for Justice, a civil rights non-profit law and public policy group, has learned that authorities in several Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) law enforcement agencies are using fake accounts on social media platforms to conduct investigations. Civil rights groups and some legislators criticize ...
by Jo Ellen Nott
On December 19, 2023, the Harris County Texas Commissioners Court approved a $1.5 million settlement in Joshua Coucke’s case against Harris County, Texas. Coucke, 35, was an innocent bystander in his own home when he was shot five times by a Harris County Sheriff’s Office deputy. ...
