Privacy Laws Should Help, Not Harm, Criminal-Justice Reform
Summary
American society urgently needs to address structural disparities in the criminal-justice system. One important disparity—which is both easily mitigated and generally unrecognized—is the asymmetry of information access granted to prosecutors and defendants. Prosecutors can easily access digital records that establish guilt. But defendants are far less empowered to access digital records that prove innocence.
Privacy laws are a key source of this disparity. The Stored Communications Act (SCA), for instance, permits law enforcement—but not defense investigators—to access certain evidence from Internet companies. Fortunately, there are two straightforward policy solutions to this problem. First, new federal privacy legislation should include language requiring symmetric information access for defendants. Second, the Department of Justice should adopt a new interpretation of the SCA to protect fairness in criminal proceedings.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics’ August 2023 pulse panel, 60% of public schools were utilizing a “community school” or “wraparound services model” at the start of this school year—up from 45% last year.
Across the U.S., public schools lack the resources to track their facilities and operations, resulting in missed opportunities to ensure equitable access to high quality learning environments.
Here is how smart education policy can make community colleges drivers of economic mobility, employment, and dynamism in local communities.
“Permitting reform” may not sound sexy, but it is critical if the federal government wants to meet its clean energy and climate goals.