Year: 2016
A Brief Response to Cy Vance About Apple and the FBI
I was going to write an overview of the technical issues involved in the FBI’s demand that Apple help them break into the iPhone 5C that was being used by San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook, but it soon became apparent that the issues were too complex for easy summary, and the story keeps changing as… Read more
Pretrial Detention and Why It’s Like That
I’ve been blogging about criminal justice issues for a long time now, and I like to think I know a few things (for an amateur observer) but every once in a while I am amazed to discover that some seemingly normal part of the criminal justice system is, on further examination, inexplicably perverse. This time… Read more
Fighting Crime…With Homelessness
Just when I thought I’d heard every awful thing in the criminal justice system — Actually, I’ve learned by now that the criminal justice system is an unending source of unjust practices and terrible outcomes, so let me start again… It’s been a while since I heard any new stories about awful things in the… Read more
A Little Oscar Math
One of the stories going around this week was that several black celebrities — including Spike Lee, Will Smith, and Jada Pinkett Smith — had announced they would not be attending the Academy Awards ceremony this year in protest of the lack of black acting nominees. Or as director Spike Lee put it in his… Read more
No, 10% of College Grads Don’t Really Think Judge Judy is on the Supreme Court
The internet is talking about a report that says 10% of American college graduates think reality TV star Judge Judy serves on the Supreme Court. The 10% factoid comes from a report called A Crisis in Civil Education produced by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, but if you look at the actual question… Read more