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From Detroit: How Not to Use Facial Recognition in Policing
Loaded on Sept. 15, 2020
by Anthony Accurso
published in Criminal Legal News
October, 2020, page 44
Filed under:
witness misidentification,
Racial Bias,
Identification Evidence and Testimony.
Location:
Minnesota.
by Anthony Accurso
A June 24, 2020, article in The New York Times by Kashmir Hill recounts the wrongful imprisonment of a Detroit man due to misuse of facial-recognition software.
In January 2020, Robert Julian-Borchak Williams was working at an automotive supply company when he received what …
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More from this issue:
- SCOTUS ‘Shadow Docket’ Secretly Pushes Agendas, Issues Major Rulings Without Argument or Public Knowledge, by Dale Chappell
- The Junk Science Cops Use to Decide You’re Lying, by Jordan Smith
- From the Editors
- California Court of Appeal Grants Habeas Relief Over Failure to Instruct Jury on ‘Heat of Passion’, by Dale Chappell
- Attacking the Guilty Plea: The Art of Withdrawing a Guilty Plea, by Dale Chappell
- Fourth Circuit: Releasee Under First Step Act Can’t ‘Bank’ Extra Time Spent in Prison Toward Future Supervised Release Violation, by Dale Chappell
- New Hampshire Supreme Court Announces Defendant Not Required to Identify Evidentiary Support for Noticed Defense, by Douglas Ankney
- Sixth Circuit Reverses District Court’s Grant of Summary Judgment to Defendants in § 1983 Suit Against City and Police Officers, by Douglas Ankney
- Ninth Circuit Clarifies Use of Rule 60(b) for Changes in Law, by Dale Chappell
- Nebraska Supreme Court Announces Remand for New Sentencing Hearing Appropriate Remedy for Enhanced Vehicular Homicide Sentence Without Evidence of Prior Convictions, by Douglas Ankney
- Study Exposes Public Defender Plea Negotiation Practices and Suggests New Negotiation Theory, by David Reutter
- Colorado Supreme Court Announces New Rules for Awarding Presentencing Credit, by Anthony Accurso
- Government Agencies Expand Use of Private Companies to Bypass Constitution, by Casey Bastian
- California Supreme Court Announces New Time Limit for Habeas ‘Appeal’ Stages, Clarifying Tolling for Federal Habeas Petitioners, by Dale Chappell
- Defense Officials: Law Enforcement in Military Garb not Appropriate, by Casey Bastian
- Justice Sotomayor Raises Due Process Concerns Over Eleventh Circuit’s Use of Published Successive Habeas Denial Orders, by Dale Chappell
- South Carolina Supreme Court: Failure to Give Logan Instruction Not Harmless Error Where Evidence Almost Entirely Circumstantial, by Douglas Ankney
- Seventh Circuit: District Court Abused Discretion by Denying Relief Without First Considering Recalculations Under First Step Act, by Douglas Ankney
- Colorado Supreme Court: Prosecution Prohibited From Arguing Defendant’s Failure to Retreat Showed Lack of Fear, Undermining Claim of Self-Defense, by Douglas Ankney
- Arizona Supreme Court Announces Cumulative Error Framework for Reviewing Multiple Instances of Prosecutorial Misconduct, by Douglas Ankney
- California Supreme Court Vacates LWOP Sentence After Its Recent Cases Clarifying ‘Special Circumstance’ Murder, by Dale Chappell
- Indiana Supreme Court: Must Be Immediate Causal Connection Between Confrontation and Other Crime by Defendant to Negate Self-Defense, by Douglas Ankney
- Seventh Circuit: Sentences for ‘Non-Covered’ Offenses Can Also Be Reduced Under First Step Act, by Dale Chappell
- Ninth Circuit: Police Violate Fourth Amendment Executing Administrative Warrant Where Primary Purpose Is Gathering Evidence for Criminal Investigation, by Douglas Ankney
- Interactions Between Diabetics and Law Enforcement Can Become Life-Threatening, by Casey Bastian
- Fourth Circuit Grants ‘SOS’ § 2254 Petition Attacking Three-Decade-Old Murder Conviction Based on New Evidence, by Dale Chappell
- Washington Federal Court: Looking at Lock Phone Screen Requires Warrant, by Anthony Accurso
- North Carolina Supreme Court: Defendant Can’t Be Convicted of Both Habitual Misdemeanor Assault and Felony Assault for Same Act, by Douglas Ankney
- Michigan Supreme Court: Probation Compliance Check During Unlawfully Extended Probation Was Unauthorized Warrantless Search, by Matthew Clarke
- Medical Experts Publish Guidelines on SUDC, by Douglas Ankney
- Successful Alternatives to Armed Police Response, by Edward Lyon
- Tenth Circuit: District Court Plainly Erred in Giving Erroneous Constructive Possession of Firearm Instruction, Conviction Reversed, by Douglas Ankney
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- Policing and Racial Bias, by Kevin Bliss
- How COVID-19 Forces New Releasees Into ‘Survival Mode’, by Dale Chappell
- From Detroit: How Not to Use Facial Recognition in Policing, by Anthony Accurso
- New Colorado Law Kills Qualified Immunity for Cops, by Dale Chappell
- When Police Caught Lying, the Spin Begins, by Edward Lyon
- Minnesota Cops Use Contact Tracing to Track Protestor Networks, by Anthony Accurso
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- New ‘Barcode’ System Puts DNA Sample to the Authenticity Test, by Anthony Accurso
- New York Police Act With Impunity During Protests, by Kevin Bliss
- Police Violence and the 14th Amendment, by Jayson Hawkins
- Police Unions Buy Their Way Out of Reform, by Kevin Bliss
- Protecting Your Phone at Protests, by Douglas Ankney
- News in Brief
More from Anthony Accurso:
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- $939,000 for Nevada Prisoner Left in Wheelchair by Delayed Back Pain Treatment, Jan. 1, 2026
- Ninth Circuit Affirms Exclusion of Plea Agreement’s Factual Basis, Holding Unaccepted “Type A” Plea Agreement Unenforceable to Trigger Waiver of Rule 410 Protections, Dec. 15, 2025
- America’s Deadliest Jails: Tarrant County Edition, Nov. 1, 2025
- Seventh Circuit Dismisses Jail Detainee Suicide Case for Lack of Showing Deliberate Indifference, Nov. 1, 2025
- Protecting Your Digital Privacy, Oct. 15, 2025
- Idaho Supreme Court Announces Warrantless Search of Civilly Committed Individual Violates Fourth Amendment, Oct. 15, 2025
- Michigan Supreme Court Announces Guidance on Standards for Search Warrants of Cellphones to Satisfy Particularity Requirement of Fourth Amendment That “Reasonably Direct” Search to Uncovering Evidence of Criminal Activity Identified in Warrant, Oct. 15, 2025
- Sixth Circuit: Erlinger Error Requires Resentencing Where Government Cannot Prove Beyond Reasonable Doubt That Jury Would Find Prior Offenses Committed on Different “Occasions”, Oct. 15, 2025
- How Nepotism in New York Prisons Cost Prisoners Their Lives, Oct. 1, 2025
More from these topics:
- Iowa Supreme Court Announces Framework for Admissibility of Expert Testimony on Eyewitness Identification, Holding Generalized Testimony on Psychological Factors Ordinarily Should Be Admitted, Jan. 1, 2026. witness misidentification, Eyewitness Testimony, Lineups, Eyewitness Identification, Expert and Opinion Testimony.
- California Court of Appeal Issues Writ of Mandate Directing Superior Court to Hold Evidentiary Hearing Under State’s Racial Justice Act, Ruling Defendant Provided Sufficient Evidence to Establish Prima Facie Claim of Implicit Bias by San Diego Police, July 1, 2025. Racial Bias, Traffic Stops, Evidence - Admissibility.
- New Jersey Supreme Court Announces Extension of Eyewitness Identification Safeguards of Henderson to Pretrial Preparation Sessions and Provides Framework for Showing Photos During Pretrial Phase, May 15, 2024. witness misidentification, Eyewitness Testimony, Lineups.
- Interactive Lineups Are a Promising New Tool to Improve Accuracy of Suspect Identification by Eyewitnesses, March 15, 2024. Commentary/Reviews, witness misidentification, Eyewitness Testimony, Lineups.
- Police Sketch Bot Arrives, June 15, 2023. witness misidentification, Police State-Surveillance, EP2P Software.
- Drug Detection Dogs Are Unreliable and Reflect the Vicious Heritage of Their Slave-Hunting Dog and Police-Dog Predecessors, July 15, 2022. Drug-Sniffing Dog, Racial Bias.
- The Real Minority Report Predictive Policing Algorithms Reflect Racial Bias Present in Corrupted Historic Databases, Oct. 15, 2021. Police State-Surveillance, Racial Bias.
- Fourth Circuit: Police Request for ID Outside Valid Terry Stop Unconstitutional, April 15, 2021. Identification Evidence and Testimony, Terry Stops.
- North Carolina Supreme Court: Superior Court Abused Discretion by Flatly Prohibiting Questions on Racial Bias During Voir Dire, Feb. 15, 2021. Racial Bias, Case Specific Questions.
- Staggering Injustice, Jan. 15, 2021. Wrongful Conviction, Racial Bias, Eyewitness Identification.





