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The BBC is reporting on the Compas assessment, Correctional Offender Management Profiling for Alternative Sanctions. This tool is used by a number of agencies to assess if someone is likely to commit additional crimes and the resulting score is used in determining bail, sentencing, or determining parole. The article points out that while the questions on the assessment do not include race the resulting score may be correlated with race but this is disputed by the software's creators. The assessment scores someone on a 10 point scale but the algorithm used to determine someone's score is kept secret. Because of this defendants are unable to effectively dispute that the score is incorrect.
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The Mathematics of the American Justice System
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(Score: 2, Insightful) by khallow on Tuesday October 18 2016, @03:58PM
The counterargument is probably that the accused does have this right for purposes of conviction, but not for bail, sentencing, or parole.
The US Constitution doesn't make this distinction. For example, from the Fifth Amendment:
nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law
Pulling shenanigans during sentencing or parole would violate this clause.
(Score: 2) by jcross on Tuesday October 18 2016, @08:38PM
But what if we interpret the arrest/sentencing/incarceration as depriving a citizen of liberty, and bail/clemency/parole as granting it? Looked at this way, due process is observed for the first set of actions, and Compas scores are only used for the second set, where due process is technically not required. Of course this is a dodge, like constant deep discounts off the "rack rate" of a hotel room, but at face value I don't see how it's inconsistent with the part of the Fifth amendment you've quoted.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday October 18 2016, @08:46PM
But what if we interpret the arrest/sentencing/incarceration as depriving a citizen of liberty, and bail/clemency/parole as granting it?
Or we could look at it as culling the weak and stupid from society. Mealy mouthed or self-serving rationalizations are nothing new. It's still a violation of the Fifth Amendment, but a violation that can be conveniently ignored, if you're no longer going by rule of law.
Of course this is a dodge
Agreed.
but at face value I don't see how it's inconsistent with the part of the Fifth amendment you've quoted.
Anything is arguable. Anything can be deemed consistent even when it's not.