Syllabus: Criminal Justice Technology, Policy, & Law
Keith Porcaro and I are back at it and teaching our criminal justice technology practicum at Georgetown Law Center. I’ll share our projects in a different post. If you care for our entire syllabus, then DM me here or on Twitter (@jtashea). In the meantime, here’s the classes and associated readings for fall 2018:
8/27: An Introduction to the Course & Projects
In the first hour, we’ll set the tone for the course, and talk about goals and functions of the criminal justice system, trends in thinking about criminal justice, and the recent rise of data and technology.
In the second hour, you’ll hear from the two project partners: the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office and the Texas Indigent Defense Commission. They’ll introduce the projects, and you’ll have the opportunity to ask questions.
Read before class
- Lynch, M., Mass incarceration, legal change, and locale (2011).
- Syllabus
- Project descriptions
9/3: No Class (Labor Day)
9/10: Asking the right questions
ASSIGNMENT DUE: Project Objectives Mini-Memo
For most of the class, we will run a simulation to give you a sense of the muddled world of criminal justice. Think choose-your-own-adventure meets DnD meets re-entry evaluation.
With the time remaining we will review project goals and how to build good interviews.
Read before class
- Spradley, J. Asking Descriptive Questions (1979).
Read after class (optional)
- Petersilla, J. What Works in Prisoner Reentry? Reviewing and Questioning the Evidence (2004).
- Richard P. Seiter and Karen R. Kadela, Prisoner Reentry: What Works, What Does Not, and What Is Promising (2003).
9/17: Systems and Processes
ASSIGNMENT DUE: Interview Questions
One fundamental approach for this course is systems thinking, but is the criminal justice system a system? (Spoiler: probably not.) We’ll talk about what it means to be a system and the implications of thinking of solutions in a system context.
In the second hour, we’ll do a short training on how to map a process and get you started on your next assignment. Come ready with a few ideas about processes relevant to your project that you might want to map.
Read before class
- Harcourt, B., The Systems Fallacy, From operations research to contemporary cost-benefit analysis: The perils of systems analysis, past and present (2016). [Read Intro (pp. 1–8), II & III (pp. 15–24), III B (pp. 30–42), III D through the end (pp. 45–59).]
- Process Map Tutorials: Lucidchart; FIS; St. Andrew’s Lean (skim); Process.st
- Review your notes from the Lynch reading from 8/27.
9/24: Data in the Justice System: Collection & Standardization
ASSIGNMENT DUE: Small process map
In the first hour, we’ll do a brief introduction to computing and data.
In the second hour, we’ll talk about data collection and data standards. If data is the new oil then data standards are the derrick’s blueprints. Due to the confederation of the criminal justice system in the U.S., data collection varies widely county-to-county and state-to-state. We’ll discuss how data standards are foundational to system administration, the development and deployment of justice technologies and next generation justice reform.
Read before class
- Colarusso, D. & Rickard, E., Speaking the Same Language: Data Standards and Disruptive Technologies in the Administration of Justice (2017).
10/1: Iterating the Fourth Amendment
ASSIGNMENT DUE: Project Memo
Technology’s march forward has made surveillance cheaper and more invasive. The Fourth Amendment is working overtime to keep up. Can police use breathalyzer laws to access your texts after an car accident? Have computer crimes brought back the practice of general warrants? Do the police need a warrant for your metadata?
In the second hour, we’ll spend 15–30 minutes talking about the project memo, and resolving lingering questions or concerns that may have come up when drafting. We’ll spend the final 30 minutes on how to evaluate technology tools, in preparation for your next assignment.
Read before class
- Maryland v. Andrews, Md. Ct. Spec. App. (2016). (Read p. 1–15, 19–48, 51–72)
- Fed. R. Crim. Pro. 41 (new sections are underlined)
- OECD-DAC Criteria for Evaluating Development Assistance
10/9 (Tues.): Police & Tech: The clash between big data and Big Brother
In the first half, we will discuss how big data is used to inform place-based predictive policing and facial recognition. When police determine where to disperse officers based based on an algorithm are we merely hiding historic racial and class bias behind a digital veil?
In the second half of the class, we will be joined virtually by Cynthia Conti-Cook, attorney at New York Legal Services Society and project manager of the Cop Accountability Program, and Ben Singleton, director of analytics for the New York Police Department. They will discuss how data is affecting their work, which is often at odds.
Read before class
- Ferguson, A., The Rise of Big Data Policing: Surveillance, Race, and the Future of Law Enforcement, chapter 4 (2017).
- Buolamwini, J., Gender Shades: Intersectional Accuracy Disparities in Commercial Gender Classification (2018). (Skim, and explore the results at http://gendershades.org/.)
Read after class (optional)
- Joh, E., Feeding the Machine: Policing, Crime Data, & Algorithms (2017).
10/15: Encryption meets the Fifth Amendment
ASSIGNMENT DUE: Solution Survey
The first hour will feature a short introduction to encryption.
For the second hour, we will talk about how encryption is being dealt with in criminal cases, especially in regards to the Fifth Amendment. Can a court compel you to decrypt a drive and preserve a privilege against self-incrimination?
Read before class
- Electronic Frontier Foundation, A Deep Dive on End-to-End Encryption: How Do Public Key Encryption Systems Work? (2018).
- Kerr, O., Third Circuit doesn’t resolve standard for forced decryption under the Fifth Amendment (2017).
10/22: Data in the Justice System: Algorithms, Analysis, & Predictions
ASSIGNMENT DUE: Expanded Process Map
In the first hour, we’ll conduct a simulation about algorithmic pre-trial detention.
In the second hour, we will talk about how algorithms are being used to help determine bail and sentencing decisions. We will talk about algorithmic and data bias, due process, and Equal Protection issues among others.
Read before class
- Loomis v. Wisconsin, 68 WI. (2016). (Read ¶1=110, ¶120–122)
Read after class (optional)
- Wall, J. et al, Solicitor General’s Response to Loomis Request for Certiorari (2017).
- Koepke, J. & Robinson, D., Danger Ahead: Risk Assessment and the future of Bail Reform (2017).
- Starr, S., Evidence-Based Sentencing and the Scientific Rationalization of Discrimination (2013).
10/29: Admissibility, Transparency and IP in the Criminal Justice System
For the first hour, we will talk about how intellectual property is limiting motions and arguments in pretrial, trial and at sentencing. This is an opportunity to build on our discussions around law enforcement hacking techniques and risk assessments. We will also add probabilistic genotyping algorithms to the mix.
In the second hour, we’ll cover expectations for the final presentation and memo. You’ll also have the opportunity to go over questions or concerns about your project.
Read before class
- Wexler, R., Life, Liberty, and Trade Secrets: Intellectual Property in the Criminal Justice System (2018). (Read Sections I, II B, and III B. Skim Section III C.)
11/5: Data in the Justice System: It never goes away
Wrapping up our lectures for the semester, we will spend the first hour discussing how the internet impacts criminal records and peoples’ lives. Can expungement coexist with the internet?
In the second hour, you will start on a threatcasting exercise, which melds what we’ve learned over the semester, science fiction writing and systems thinking. Simply, this will be an opportunity to think about what threats technology may create for people’s due process in 2028. We will continue this exercise the following week.
Read before class
- Lee, E., Monetizing Shame: Mugshots, Privacy, and the Right to Access (2018). (Read Sections I and III and conclusion.)
- Watch videos for threatcasting assignment.
Read after class
- Attorney General of California, Declaration of Inspector Sara Delaney in support of arrest warrants [for owners of mugshots.com] (2018).
11/12: Threatcasting Continued
The entire class will be a continuation of the threatcasting exercise we began the previous week.
11/19: Presentation Practice
Each group will make their presentation to the class and answer questions asked by the audience.
11/26: Final Presentations
In front of a panel of legal, policy and technology experts, each group will present its final presentation and manage a question and answer session with the panel. Dress professionally.
