The digital divide in the US criminal justice system
The digital divide in the US criminal justice system
复制标题
美国刑事司法系统的数字鸿沟
作者：
Fanny A. Ramirez
来自智能手机和社交媒体的数字证据的使用越来越多，导致美国刑事司法系统出现数字鸿沟，这有利于执法部门和检察官，同时进一步增加了依赖公共法律的援助的穷人和有色人种的脆弱性。利用为期一年的民族志研究的第一个数字取证实验室在公设辩护人办公室，我认为，数字包容的形式更好的资源，为公设辩护人是必要的公平和公正的代表性，在今天的刑事司法系统。调查结果表明，数字取证技术是一个重要的平衡工具，使公设辩护人能够（1）建立强有力的数据驱动的案件;（2）创建反叙事，挑战边缘化被告的危险性;（3）参与细致入微的故事讲述，突出人际关系和生活环境的复杂性，塑造案件。
The growing use of digital evidence from smartphones and social media has led to a digital divide in the US criminal justice system that advantages law enforcement and prosecutors while further increasing the vulnerability of poor people and people of color who rely on public legal assistance. Drawing on a year-long ethnographic study of one of the first digital forensics laboratories in a public defender office, I argue that digital inclusion in the form of better resources for public defenders is necessary for equitable and fair representation in today’s criminal justice system. Findings show that access to digital forensic technologies is an important equalizing tool that allows public defenders to (1) mount strong, data-driven cases; (2) create counter narratives that challenge depictions of marginalized defendants as dangerous; and (3) engage in nuanced storytelling to highlight the complexities of human relationships and life circumstances that shape cases.