Name: No Secret Evidence in Our Courts
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No Secret Evidence in Our Courts

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Email updates on news, actions,and events in your area.DEEPLINKS BLOGShare ItIf you’re accused of a crime, you have a right to examine and challenge the evidence used against you. In an important victory, an agreed with EFF and the ACLU of NJ that a defendant is entitled to see the source code of software that’s used to generate evidence against them.The case of New Jersey v. Pickett involves complex DNA analysis using TrueAllele software. The software analyzed a DNA sample obtained by swabbing a weapon, a sample that likely contained the DNA of multiple people. It then asserted that it was likely that the defendant, Corey Pickett, had contributed DNA to that sample, implicating him in the crime.But when the defense team wanted to analyze how that software arrived at that conclusion, the prosecutors and the software vendor insisted that it was a secret. They argued that the defense team shouldn’t be allowed to look at how the software actually worked, because the vendor has a commercial interest in preventing competitors from knowing its trade secrets.The court correctly ruled in favor of the defendant’s right to understand and challenge the software being used to implicate him. The code will not be publicly disclosed, but will be made available to the defense team. The defense needs this information about TrueAllele so that it can fairly participate in a procedural step known as a Frye hearing, used to ensure that a defendant’s rights are not undermined through the introduction of unreliable expert evidence.In previous instances, defense experts have found fatal flaws in this kind of software. For instance, a complex DNA analysis program called “FST” was shown to have an undisclosed function in the code with the potential to tip the scales against a defendant. After the defense team found the issue, journalists at ProPublica persuaded the court to have the source code .This issue has arisen all around the country, and we have filed multiple briefs in different courts warning of the danger of secret software being used to convict criminal defendants. No one should be imprisoned or executed based on secret evidence that cannot be fairly evaluated for its reliability, and the ruling in this case will help prevent that injustice.Share ItHow transparent are police about surveillance technology? It depends on where you look. When it comes to acceptable levels of secrecy around police tools, states have drawn their lines in very different places, resulting in some communities where it is much harder for the public to know what invasive tools...By unanimous vote, San Francisco's public records appeals body ruled last night that the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) violated state and local laws when it failed to respond adequately to EFF's requests for documents about face recognition and the department's relationship with the Northern California Regional Intelligence Center (NCRIC),...Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter highlights the risks to human rights and personal safety when any single person has complete control over policies affecting almost 400 million users. And in this case, that person has repeatedly demonstrated that they do not understand the realities of platform policy at scale.EFF and the the are seeking to unseal a host of court records documenting a patent dispute between Google and Uniloc, a prolific patent litigant.Secrecy pervades the entire record in Uniloc v. Google. When Google filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, the parties...Democracy means allowing everyday people to have their voices heard on public matters involving their communities. One of the goals of civic technology is to allow a more diverse group of people to have input on government affairs through the use of technology and the internet. Beth Noveck, author of...SAN FRANCISCO—As part of its ongoing work to ensure that people can know and understand the laws they live under, , a nonprofit organization, on Thursday vindicated its ability to publicly post important laws online in standard formats, free of copy protections and cumbersome user interfaces.The win for Public...EFF is suing the Department of Homeland Security for transparency into its social media surveillance program targeting visa applicants.Each year during Sunshine Week (March 13-19), The Foilies serve up tongue-in-cheek "awards" for government agencies and assorted institutions that stand in the way of access to information. The Electronic Frontier Foundation and MuckRock combine forces to collect horror stories about Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and state-level public records...For more than three years, EFF has been to court records in a patent case between Uniloc, one of the world’s most prolific patent trolls, and Apple, one of the world’s biggest tech companies. The district court has ruled three different times that the public...Over the last few years, technology platforms have . In one example of this, technology companies have refused to host speech by Palestinian activist Leila Khaled. Khaled is associated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a group on...Share It

Email updates on news, actions,and events in your area.DEEPLINKS BLOGShare ItIf you’re accused of a crime, you have a right to examine and challenge the evidence used against you. In an important victory, an agreed with EFF and the ACLU of NJ that a defendant is entitled to see the source code of software that’s used to generate evidence against them.The case of New Jersey v. Pickett involves complex DNA analysis using TrueAllele software. The software analyzed a DNA sample obtained by swabbing a weapon, a sample that likely contained the DNA of multiple people. It then asserted that it was...

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No Secret Evidence in Our Courts

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