Category «Civil Liberties»

Statement of ABA President Re Judicial Independence Updated

Statement of ABA President Judy Perry Martinez Re: Judicial Independence and Sound Exercise of Prosecutorial Discretion – WASHINGTON, Feb. 12, 2020 – “The American Bar Association steadfastly supports judicial independence and the sound exercise of prosecutorial discretion. Public officials who personally attack judges or prosecutors can create a perception that the system is serving a …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Courts, Government Documents, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

DOJ files new lawsuits in renewed push to pressure ‘sanctuary cities’

WSJ.com [paywall]: “The U.S. Justice Department filed three lawsuits against California, New Jersey and a Washington county late Monday over their laws and policies limiting local cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, escalating a Trump administration battle against liberal states and localities that adopt so-called sanctuary cities…” See also: DOJ Sues NJ and officials over …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Courts, E-Government, E-Records, Government Documents, Legal Research, Privacy

DOJ Sues NJ and officials over ICE access to immigration docs

Justice Department Sues State of New Jersey, New Jersey Governor, and New Jersey Attorney General for Prohibiting State Officials From Sharing Information With U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement: “Today, the U.S. Department of Justice filed suit against the State of New Jersey, New Jersey Governor Philip Murphy, and New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal. The …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Courts, E-Government, E-Records, Government Documents, Legal Research, Privacy

Draft DHS memo highlights retaliation against states not releasing driver records

A memo obtained by BuzzFeed News outlines options to put leverage on states that, like New York, deny federal immigration officials access to state driver records: “The Trump administration drafted a slew of plans to consider not only circumventing state laws limiting the Department of Homeland Security’s access to driver records, but to retaliate against …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Courts, E-Records, Government Documents, Legal Research, Privacy, Transportation

Smarter government or data-driven disaster

“The algorithms helping control local communities – MuckRock’s releasing a new database of algorithms in government – but we’ll need your input – What is the chance you, or your neighbor, will commit a crime? Should the government change a child’s bus route? Add more police to a neighborhood or take some away? Every day …

Subjects: AI, Civil Liberties, E-Government, E-Records, Government Documents, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

An Algorithm That Grants Freedom, or Takes It Away

The New York Times – Across the United States and Europe, software is making probation decisions and predicting whether teens will commit crime. Opponents want more human oversight. “.. In Philadelphia, an algorithm created by a professor at the University of Pennsylvania has helped dictate the experience of probationers for at least five years. The …

Subjects: AI, Civil Liberties, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Privacy

In first – flagship law journals at top U.S. law schools are all led by women

Washington Post – “Only one woman worked on the staff of the Harvard Law Review when Ruth Bader Ginsburg arrived on campus in 1956. It would be another two decades before a woman was elected to lead the school’s prestigious legal journal. The Supreme Court justice this week addressed the current slate of editors in …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Education, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

Tool to Help Journalists Spot Doctored Images Is Unveiled by Jigsaw

The New York Times – The company, owned by Google’s parent, introduced a free tool it calls Assembler to sort out real images from fake ones. “On February 4, 2020, Jigsaw, a company that develops cutting-edge tech and is owned by Google’s parent, unveiled a free tool that researchers said could help journalists spot doctored …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Search Engines, Social Media

Iowa unveils its new election security feature: Pieces of paper

Vox – The Iowa caucuses are our first look at new security measures for the 2020 election cycle. “On Monday, Iowans will have a chance to vote for their preferred presidential candidate in the state’s caucus — our first indication of who will ultimately win the Democratic Party nomination. It will also be our first …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Government Documents, Legal Research

2020 The State of Auto Insurance

The Zebra – Car insurance rates across the U.S. are higher than ever. “The Zebra reveals the latest data, trends impacting rates, and which drivers pay the most, based on an analysis of 73 million rates…Since 2011, rates have skyrocketed 29.6% nationally, though the impacts differ across the U.S. Seven states have seen small rate …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, E-Records, Financial System, Privacy, Transportation