Society

"Reprogramming Recidivism: The First Step Act and Algorithmic Prediction of Risk"

The title of this post is the title of this paper recently posted to SSRN and authored by Amy Cyphert.  Here is its abstract: The First Step Act, a seemingly miraculous bipartisan criminal justice reform bill, was signed into law in late 2018.  The Act directed the Attorney General to develop a risk and needs assessment tool that would effectively determine who would be eligible for early release based on an algorithmic prediction of recidivism.  The resulting tool — PATTERN — was released in t...
Tags: Law, Douglas A Berman, Amy Cyphert

What kind of "behind the scenes" clemency moves might Prez Biden's staff be working on?

The question in the title of this post is prompted by a sentence in this Vox piece by German Lopez (strangely) headlined "Biden’s secret weapon for criminal justice reform."  The article is about the power of the President to grant clemency, and I think it a bit strange to call that power a "secret weapon" given all the attention that clemency has received in recent years and given that there has already been a number of prominent calls for Prez Biden to use this power in prominent ways (example...
Tags: Law, Senate, White House, America, Aclu, Biden, Lopez, Douglas A Berman, Biden Administration, Prez Biden

Doctors fear new child mental health crisis in UK, made worse by Covid

Surge in cases expected as schools reopen and charities report 70% rise in demand for services A surge in child mental health cases is expected to emerge as schools reopen next week, amid warnings of a “crisis on top of a crisis” hitting vulnerable children during the pandemic.Paediatricians, psychologists and charitable groups providing mental health support all told the Observer they were seeing increasing demand and warned of another surge as lockdown is lifted. Several reported longer waitin...
Tags: Health, UK, Education, Children, Society, UK News, Poverty, Mental Health, Schools, Young People, Inequality, Coronavirus, COVID

TOS Isn’t a Browsewrap or a Clickwrap, But the Judge Upholds It Anyways–Regan v. Pinger

This case doesn’t break much new ground doctrinally, but it’s a characteristically clear opinion from Judge Koh that offers some helpful lessons/reminders. The app in question is called “Sideline,” “a paid service that allows users to create a ‘virtual,’ alternative telephone line for their mobile phone.” For reasons the court doesn’t explain, the plaintiff used the app heavily, creating 186 different accounts over several years. The plaintiff broke off the relationship because the defendant all...
Tags: Amazon, Uber, Law, E-commerce, Meyer, Nicosia, Koh, Regan, Westlaw, TCPA, Licensing/Contracts, Tos, Cullinane, Pinger, Sideline App the Court, Pinger Inc

Full moon at dawn.

 This morning at 6:42.The sun looked like this: Talk about anything you want in the comments. [Author: [email protected] (Ann Althouse)]
Tags: Photography, Law, Sunrise, The moon, Lake Mendota, Ann Althouse

Texts And Domestic Violence Draw Suspension And Probation

A summary from the web page of the Colorado Presiding Disciplinary Judge The Presiding Disciplinary Judge approved the parties’ amended conditional admission of misconduct and suspended John D. Halepaska (attorney registration number 28653) for one year and one day, with... [Author: Legal Profession Prof]
Tags: Law, Colorado, Legal Profession Prof, Bar Discipline & Process, John D Halepaska

With Quicker Vaccine Rollout, Employers Face More Urgent Issues

With vaccines rolling out to employees 55 and older on March 1, 2021, employers that thought they may face issues in a few months, now will be front and center for those considerations. How do you deal with risks and litigation concerns? My colleagues, Jill O’Toole and Sarah Niemiroski, and I have prepared a quick post on all these issues on my firm’s sister site, Employment Law Letter. In addition, we’re planning a brand-new webinar on vaccines given the multitude of new questions that keep ari...
Tags: Law, Accommodation, Vaccine, Ada, Webinar, Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Laws and Regulations, Featured Content, Coronavirus, Covid Vaccine, Jill O Toole, Sarah Niemiroski

"The asymmetry of the table not centered under the window is troubling, no?"

Said R C Belaire, looking at this photograph in yesterday's Lunchtime Café:   Meade had, in fact, been troubled by the asymmetry, and, even before seeing Belaire's comment, had embarked on the project of repositioning the table. Here's Meade's photograph, to dispel all your troubles that are about window-table asymmetry at Meadhouse: [Author: [email protected] (Ann Althouse)]
Tags: Law, Plants, Interior Design, Meade, Ann Althouse, Belaire, photos by Meade, R C Belaire

"President Biden has decided that the diplomatic cost of directly penalizing Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is too high..."

"... according to senior administration officials, despite a detailed American intelligence finding that he directly approved the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, the dissident and Washington Post columnist who was drugged and dismembered in October 2018. The decision by Mr. Biden, who during the 2020 campaign called Saudi Arabia a 'pariah' state with 'no redeeming social value,' came after weeks of debate in which his newly formed national security team advised him that there was no way to formally...
Tags: Law, Congress, Washington Post, Saudi Arabia, White House, America, Qatar, Iran, United States, Biden, Yemen, Lebanon, Mohammed, Arab, Trump, Mohammed bin Salman

Equity.

Equity = punishing kids for doing well in school. If they’re white or Asian. https://t.co/EAPbs83IRB— Andrew Sullivan (@sullydish) February 27, 2021 [Author: [email protected] (Ann Althouse)]
Tags: Law, Andrew Sullivan, Race And Education, Ann Althouse

UPSC Government Jobs Vacancy Recruitment 4/2021

Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), Dholpur House, New Delhi invites Online application on prescribed recruitment form by 18/03/2021 for following Sarkari Naukri Government Jobs vacancy posts specially Engineers, Public Prosecutors, Scientific Officer etc. in various Central Government Departments/Organisations in the prescribed online format (UPSC Advt. No. 4/2021). SarkariNaukriBlog dot com ( = || []).push({}); UPSC Government... Please Click on ...
Tags: Jobs, Law, Engineer, Officer, Forensic, PSC, Manisha, Scientific, UPSC, Programmer, Civil Engineer Naukri, Prosecutor, Sarkari Naukri Government Jobs, UPSC Government Jobs Vacancy Recruitment

How to avoid 'Zoom fatigue' during the Covid pandemic

Constantly being confronted with an image of yourself while video conferencing can be exhausting, says expertCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageImagine you’re walking around your workplace followed incessantly by colleagues holding a mirror which causes you to stare at yourself for large parts of the day.The bizarre scenario is in effect becoming the norm in the era of physically distanced video conference meetings and this “nonverbal overload” is leading to “Zoom fatigu...
Tags: Health, Business, Technology, Life and style, Society, World news, Working From Home, Zoom, Stanford University Continue, Jeremy Bailenson, Coronavirus

"Do you support the government’s intervening to override the parent’s consent to give a child puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and/or amputation surgery of breasts and genitalia?"

That was Rand Paul's question to Rachel Levine, Biden’s nominee for assistant health secretary. He's quoted at "The Absurd Criticism of Rand Paul’s Rachel Levine Questioning" (National Review). It's a precise question. If it can't be answered, why can't it be answered? If it's an outrageous question, that must be because the answer is plainly "no," so why couldn't Levine forthrightly say "no"? There are some questions where the right answer is to refuse to answer — for example questions that nos...
Tags: Law, Drugs, Transgender, Surgery, Rand Paul, PAUL, Levine, Rachel Levine, Unsaid Things, Ann Althouse, Rachel Levine Biden

Captain Sir Tom Moore: tributes paid by family at funeral

Public were not able to attend funeral but thousands of signed online book of condolencesCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe family of Captain Sir Tom Moore paid tribute to the war veteran who raised tens of millions of pounds for the NHS during the first coronavirus lockdown, as he was laid to rest in a funeral broadcast to the nation.Speaking at the private service in Bedfordshire crematorium, Moore’s family said that his “message and his spirit lives on”. Continue ...
Tags: Society, UK News, NHS, Volunteering, Bedfordshire, Moore, Tom Moore, Coronavirus

Why QAnon are pinning their last desperate hopes on Trump emerging as president on March 4

Some QAnon conspiracy theorists believe that former President Donald Trump will be sworn in on March 4, 2021. John Rudoff/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images QAnon followers believe that Trump will be reinstated as president on March 4, 2021. The conspiracy theory is rooted in the discredited beliefs of the sovereign citizen movement. It has gained popularity with QAnon followers after being circulated on Telegram and Gam. Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories. QAnon followers...
Tags: Politics, Law, Washington, US, Trends, Joe Biden, View, Fbi, United States, Washington Dc, News UK, Dc, Conspiracy Theories, Smith, Donald Trump, Grant

Lots of great new reads from various parts of The Appeal

There is so much important and impressive content at The Appeal, I know I often miss some great content within the site's many sections. But I figure I can use this space to make sure others do not miss a few pieces from different part of the site this past week that may be of special interest to sentencing fans: From The Lab "The Carceral Force of Prosecutor Associations, Explained" by Angela J. Davis "The Case for Prioritizing COVID-19 Vaccines in Prisons and Jails" by Emily A Wang, Lauren...
Tags: Law, Bureau Of Justice Statistics, Douglas A Berman, Molly Greene, Angela J Davis, Molly Greene Biden, Nikki Trautman Baszynski

"Video Killed the Radio Star."

It's TikTok, so I need to put it after the jump. Here's the famous Buggles version of the song. What I want you to see is pocketsuke: @pocketsuke Reply to @upponervik2007 ##videokilledtheradiostar ##thebuggles ##kazookeylele ##songrequest ##ukulele ##kazoo ##toypiano ##ukulelecover ##kazoocover ##comedy ♬ Kazookeylele Video K The Radio Star - pocketsuke For more from pocketsuke, go . [Author: [email protected] (Ann Althouse)]
Tags: Law, Ann Althouse, Radio Star, Pocketsuke

Captain Sir Tom Moore’s funeral to get flypast by WWII plane

Family-only service given honour in recognition of veteran who died at 100 after raising £38m for NHSA second world war-era plane will fly over Captain Sir Tom Moore’s funeral service in honour of the war veteran, who raised almost £39m for NHS charities during the first coronavirus lockdown.The C-47 Dakota, part of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, which operates from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire, will perform the flypast.Moore, who died this month at the age of 100 after testing positive...
Tags: UK News, Britain, Military, Charities, Second world war, NHS, British Army, Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Moore, Dakota, Tom Moore, RAF Coningsby, NHSA, Coronavirus, Yorkshire Regiment

What will be in Rishi Sunak's 2021 budget?

Expect measures to help economic recovery but watch out for capital gains tax and other tax risesRishi Sunak’s budget on 3 March is set to unveil a range of measures to help support the recovery of the UK economy, but tax rises are in the offing too. Here is what we can expect. Continue reading...
Tags: Business, Politics, UK, Money, Climate Change, Environment, Economics, Tax, Society, UK News, Tax and spending, Infrastructure, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Property, Stamp Duty, Economic recovery