Evidence
In the legal profession, destroying or suppressing evidence ranks just below stealing money from a client. The very purpose of discovery, wrote Justice William O. Douglas in 1958, “is to make trial less a game of blindman’s buff and more a fair contest, with the basic issues and facts disclosed to the fullest practicable extent.” — Jonathan Harr, A Civil Action, 2903
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: Selective evidence can mislead juries about the case’s credibility. — Lynley Hood, A City Possessed, 2644; Secrecy suppresses knowledge, enforcing historical amnesia. — Nicholson Baker, Baseless- My Search for Secrets in the…, 1085; Privacy rules can prevent engineers from even measuring model bias — Brian Christian, The Alignment Problem, 297 (+3 more)
Broader Connections
- Model opacity makes algorithmic decisions unaccountable in courtrooms
#complicates(0.85) — Brian Christian, The Alignment Problem, 61 - Literal application of legal rules sometimes produces absurd against-purpose outcomes
#expands(0.65) — Frederick Schauer, Thinking Like a Lawyer, 284