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A Black Box, a Guilty Plea, and an Uncertain Truth
Loaded on April 15, 2025
by Michael Thompson
published in Criminal Legal News
May, 2025, page 25
Filed under:
DNA Testing/Samples,
Computer Searches,
Forensic Sciences,
Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas.
Location:
United States of America.
by Michael Dean Thompson
In forensic technology, the term “black box” has gained prominence. It describes a system whose inner workings remain opaque—an output emerges, but how it is produced eludes the user. Such black-box algorithms underpin artificial intelligence (“AI”) tools that identify suspects from video footage, guide police patrols ...
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More from this issue:
- Beyond a Reasonable Doubt? Fingerprint Evidence’s Troubling Flaws, by Douglas Ankney
- Warrantless Device Inspections Surge at the U.S. Border, by David Kim
- Welcome to 2025: Where Your Freedoms Go to Die, by John W. Whitehead, Nisha Whitehead
- Connecticut Supreme Court Announces Teague’s ‘Watershed’ Rule Exception to Nonretroactivity of New Constitutional Rule of Criminal Procedure on Collateral Review Has ‘Continued Vitality’ in Connecticut, Adoption of Third Exception to Teague’s Nonretroacti, by Douglas Ankney
- ICE’s Expansive Surveillance Tool Monitors Hundreds of Websites and Apps, by James Mills
- Arkansas Supreme Court Rules § 16-93-609(b)(2)(B), Relating to Parole Eligibility for Residential Burglary Conviction, Applies Retroactively to Defendant, by Sagi Schwartzberg
- A Black Box, a Guilty Plea, and an Uncertain Truth, by Michael Thompson
- Cops’ Lie-Detecting Delusion: They Can’t Spot Lies Based on Nonverbal Cues or ‘Abnormal’ Behavior—Yet Keep Lying to Themselves (and Ruining Lives) That They Can, by David Kim
- Third-Hand Meth Contamination in Cars Poses Hidden Danger to Buyers and Renters, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Federal Government Circumventing Fourth Amendment by Buying Data From Data Brokers, by Anthony Accurso
- AI Identifies Sex From Skulls Faster and More Accurately Than Experts, by James Mills
- Bodycam Footage for Sale: Ohio Joins the List of States Charging Money for Bodycam Footage, While Others Restrict It Entirely, by James Mills
- Crowdsourcing a Map to Track License Plate Surveillance, by Anthony Accurso
- Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Announces Order of Deferred Disposition Not a ‘Sentence’ Under Article 44.01(b)—Which Authorizes State to Appeal Illegal Sentence—Resolving Split Among State Courts of Appeals, by David Reutter
- Treasury Lowers Cash Reporting Threshold to $200 for Southwest Border Counties, by James Mills
- NYPD Responds to 911 Calls with Drones, by James Mills
- Connecticut Compensates Exonerated Prisoners, Reforms Policing, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Younger Generations Lead Decline in U.S. Support for Death Penalty, by Michael Thompson
- D.C. Police Continue Heavy Investment in Social Media Monitoring, by Anthony Accurso
- Questionable Retail Theft Panic Fuels More Mass Surveillance and Police Militarization, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Fourth Circuit: District Court Erred in Imposing ‘Managerial Role’ Enhancement Under Guidelines § 3B1.1(b) Without Making ‘Particularized Findings’ Regarding Scope of Criminal Activity and Number of Participants as Required by Guidelines §1B1.1, by Douglas Ankney
- Nearly 150 Exonerations in 2024 Highlight Persistent Flaws in U.S. Criminal Justice System, by David Kim
- Ninth Circuit Grants Stay and Abeyance of Federal Habeas Petition to Allow Petitioner to Exhaust State Remedies, by Sagi Schwartzberg
- The FBI’s Encrypted Phone Sting, by Michael Thompson
- Ninth Circuit Announces Attorney Cannot Be Compelled to Provide ‘Privilege Log’ Protected Under Fisher if Doing So Would Undermine Client’s Fifth Amendment ‘Act-of-Production Privilege’ and Attorney-Client Privilege, by Sagi Schwartzberg
- Fifth Circuit: Sentence Enhancement for Maintaining Drug Premises Not Satisfied Solely by Defendant’s Single, Conclusory Statement That He ‘Maintained’ Premises When Record Shows Mere ‘Use’ of Premises, by David Reutter
- News in Brief
More from Michael Thompson:
- A Black Box, a Guilty Plea, and an Uncertain Truth, April 15, 2025
- Younger Generations Lead Decline in U.S. Support for Death Penalty, April 15, 2025
- The FBI’s Encrypted Phone Sting, April 15, 2025
- FBI Pressured Forensic Science Group to Censor Critical Workshops, Emails Reveal, March 15, 2025
- Study Confirms New York City’s ShotSpotter Deployment Was a Costly Misstep, March 15, 2025
- How Online Behavioral Ads Fuel Mass Surveillance, March 15, 2025
- Can Comics Help Juries Understand Complex DNA Evidence?, March 15, 2025
- Reining in Police Monitoring of Social Media, Feb. 15, 2025
- Study: DNA Transfer in Social Settings, Feb. 15, 2025
- Surveilling the Harms of Electronic Monitors, Feb. 1, 2025
More from these topics:
- AI Identifies Sex From Skulls Faster and More Accurately Than Experts, April 15, 2025. Forensic Sciences, Authentication/Identification, EP2P Software, Eyewitness Identification.
- NYPD Responds to 911 Calls with Drones, April 15, 2025. Computer Searches, Police State-Surveillance, Use of Drones.
- ‘Jack the Ripper’ Meets DNA Analysis, March 15, 2025. DNA Testing/Samples.
- Can Comics Help Juries Understand Complex DNA Evidence?, March 15, 2025. DNA Testing/Samples.
- Shakedown in New Mexico: Decades-Long Police Corruption Scandal Rocks Albuquerque’s DWI Unit, March 15, 2025. Police Misconduct, Bribery, Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas.
- Faster Justice: Rapid DNA Set to Expand Law Enforcement Reach, March 15, 2025. DNA Testing/Samples, Crime Labs, Forensic Sciences.
- FBI Pressured Forensic Science Group to Censor Critical Workshops, Emails Reveal, March 15, 2025. FBI, Forensic Sciences, Education and Vocational Skills/Training.
- Government Hacks Computers to Thwart Hackers, March 15, 2025. Computer Searches, Searches - Cellphones/Computers/Internet.
- Former Vermont Sheriff Takes Plea Deal in Sexual Assault Case, March 1, 2025. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Police/Govt Misconduct, Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas.
- ‘Fictional Pleas’ and ‘Hidden Departures’: Failure to Collect Data on Binding Federal Plea Bargains Hinders Researchers, Feb. 15, 2025. Databases, Disclosure of Records, Public Records Act, Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas.