Blog Posts

The pandemic has revealed the fault lines in American politics, we’re told. That’s probably true. Herewith a decidedly dystopian snapshot. Simply put, our communal ties are frayed, perhaps irreparably.
Cicero observed that a republic, or commonwealth, was...

Artificial intelligence, that is, the ability of a computer to learn and either to augment or to replace human activity presents profound legal challenges for the criminal law. What to do when your computer assists you in accomplishing a goal, and the result turns out to be a violation...

I am convinced that I am an artificial intelligence alarmist for the same reason that I like dystopian and apocalyptic literature. What I don’t understand is why the secret hope for catastrophe. The current pandemic has certainly called my bluff. Be careful what you wish for, I...

The New York Times unveiled a massive new editorial campaign in Sunday’s paper. “The America We Need,” the front page of the Sunday Review section announces. The entire front page of the section is an illustration of folks appearing to work in a medical lab;...

I don’t doubt for a moment that social distancing, hand-washing and covering one’s mouth and nose while out in a crowd diminish the risk of my acquiring or spreading the coronavirus.
It’s good medical advice, offered with good intentions by medical...

A friend of mine plans to attend a rally in his state’s capital. “Open up the country,” he’ll demand. He’ll be marching in the name of liberty.
Loved ones counsel vigilance. Stay home. If you must go out, wear a mask and gloves. Wash your...

In the last piece of this series on Dystopian Jitters, I wrote about how the COVID-19 pandemic has been used to foster tolerance of mass surveillance. (See, Mass Surveillance and COVID-19 – Dystopian Jitters, I) Given the imperative to survive, most everyone is willing to...

I’ve got a serious case of the dystopian jitters, and I can’t tell whether the source of them is realistic or not. So, I share them with you, the better to reality test in these days of isolated anxiety.
What are dystopian jitters?
A fear...

Word has it that Gov. Ned Lamont is beside himself. The judiciary isn’t doing enough in this crisis, he is said to mutter. He is said to have ordered, or is contemplating ordering, judges to turn up at the courthouses, even if it is only to punch the clock. Courthouses throughout...

Cross-examination is the engine of our civil and criminal justice system. When there is a dispute about facts, witnesses are required. Fact-finders, whether they be juries or judges, then make credibility assessments, deciding whom to believe. Yes, mistakes are made – many a...