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🪵 The Threshold

Closed case files can anchor prosecutors to race-neutral decision baselines

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tagsja-picks, craft_and_method, singleton, xref, category/craft-and-method
aliases@joseph_avery_bias_2021, loc. 1215

2 min read

Closed case files can anchor prosecutors to race-neutral decision baselines

Evidence

Fortunately, prosecutors’ offices are in possession of information that can be used to form clear and unbiased baselines: closed case files. Employing advanced methods of statistics and computer science, they could use closed case files as a corpus from which to build a model that can produce raceneutral case outcomes. Specifically, they could build a computational model that enables introduction, early in the development of a new criminal case, of an anchor to prosecutorial decision-making. That is, the model would receive the police report and would produce a prediction as to how the case would resolve (based on tens of thousands of previous cases) if the defendant were treated race-neutrally (i.e., all else held equal, the defendant will not receive a different outcome if he is, say, White rather than Black). This prediction could be used by the prosecutor as an anchor; if he or she deviates from the model’s prediction, the reason for the deviation can be described by the prosecutor and incorporated into the model moving forward. — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 1215 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

  • XREF: connects to: Closed case files can seed race-neutral predictive models for prosecutorial decisions; Prosecutors can benchmark race-neutral decisions using models built from closed case files. — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law: A Definitive Look at…, 1215; Prosecutorial decisions can be anchored to race-neutral predicted outcomes (+1 more)

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