Regarding 13th — The Documentary

I watched the documentary 13th the other day and was overcome with a sense of urgency. Immediately after the film, I wrote a letter to the film’s director, Ava DuVernay. An edited version of the letter is reproduced below.

Dear Ms. DuVernay:

I recently watched your brilliant film, 13th. After watching the film, and especially upon viewing your interview with Oprah Winfrey at the end, I was motivated to speak out.

I am an attorney and currently serve as Head of Legal of a technology firm based in San Francisco. I have been in the telecommunications and technology industry for nearly twenty years. On the basis of my involvement in the legal and technology industries, I believe that technology could become a useful tool in dealing with some of the issues currently facing disenfranchised and disadvantaged communities(“targeted communities”). In particular, I believe that the creation of an application, system, or software that would enable citizens to self-report instances of police misconduct could become an effective means of helping to address these issues.

In your film, I appreciated your comments regarding the need for creative solutions to addressing these issues immediately. On the basis of your comments, I was motivated to act. Over the years, I have helped to design and develop applications and software to be used in the telecommunications, tax, technology, and financial industries.

I have recently formed a company, which will allow me to use the knowledge and skills I have gained through designing and building applications on behalf of corporations for commercial purposes to create applications on behalf of oppressed people for the purpose of addressing societal problems.

With this goal in mind, I have attached an application development proposal (ADP),which summarizes my suggestions for a technology-based solution to addressing some of the problems targeted communities are facing, especially in the context of interactions with police officers and law enforcement.

As described more fully in the ADP, I believe that the creation of a community-based application that would allow citizens to self-report instances of police conduct could provide us with immediate access to a range of data regarding police interactions with the black community.

Thus far, much of the debate surrounding unfair and unreasonable Stop & Frisk policies, have focused on policies to require police officers and police departments to collect certain data regarding each arrest. Although I agree that data collection would reveal alarming patterns regarding these arrests, I question the usefulness of such an approach in actually keeping targeted citizens out of jail.

As reflected in the attached chart, the arrest data reveals that, in the District of Columbia for calendar year 2017, 85% of Stop & Frisk arrests are of black men. Without a plan to prevent black and other targeted citizens from being arrested in the first place, however, the value of this data is extremely limited. Numbers and data, standing alone, do nothing to keep our children from being unreasonably approached, stopped, and arrested by the law enforcement officers that are supposed to be there to protect them.

The second set of charts summarizes juvenile arrest data for the District of Columbia for calendar year 2017. As the data show, a significant number of juvenile arrests are for crimes and infractions that appear to be non-violent incidents and infractions (“Non-Violent Incidents”). Examples of arrests within this category include: possession of illegal self-defense spray, eating or drinking using public transportation, or failing to pay public transportation fare.

Under current arrest policies, a child who is arrested for even minor offenses is at risk for repeated exposure to the criminal justice system. Once a child is arrested, for example, they are required to appear in court. A failure to appear in court can trigger a number of subsequent actions, including the possibility of a bench warrant for the child’s arrest, or an order branding the child as an “Absconder.” A significant number of arrests appear to be related to this “Failure to Appear” issue.

In terms of taking action, the time when children need access to the best defense legal representation is at the very beginning — at the time of the initial criminal charge. On this point, I would advocate for a complete overhaul of the manner in which children and young people are represented at these arrest hearings. If the goal is to keep the child out of the system at the earliest possible opportunity, then we need to provide them with access to the absolute best legal representation at the very beginning.

I would advocate for something along the lines of an community-based network or organization, whose primary purpose is to provide free and immediate legal services to young persons arrested for seemingly frivolous or non-violent crimes and incidents.

Children who are arrested for crimes falling into this category should have access to the best legal representation possible to ensure that they are removed as quickly as possible from further processing within the criminal justice system. Free and immediate legal representation up front — at the beginning of the child’s involvement in the criminal justice system — could lead to a significant reduction of the number of children and young people involved in the criminal justice system.

I agree with your statements in your film that the time to take action is now. I have never spoken out as a result of watching any other film or production. Yet, after viewing 13th, I simply could not remain silent. The time to take action is now.