Catherine Crump

Getting rid of predatory judges

Catherine Crump writes for The New York Times, Dec. 19, 2017

The judiciary should make clear, to clerks and judges alike, that a judge’s inappropriate sexual conduct and comments are not covered by the job’s confidentiality obligations. It should also provide better complaint mechanisms for federal clerks, about half of whom are women.

State high court rules in favor of scanner information disclosure

Catherine Crump quoted by Daily Journal (registration required), Sept. 1, 2017

License plate readers are the most common examples of a mass surveillance technology, but they aren’t the only ones, said Catherine Crump. … “This trend isn’t going away, and the question of public right to access mass surveillance data is one that isn’t going away,” she said.

Electronic monitoring isn’t kid-friendly

Catherine Crump, Kate Weisburd and Christina Koningisor write for The Sacramento Bee, July 20, 2017

Electronic monitoring may worsen the very problems that juvenile courts try to remedy. Rather than further rehabilitation, it often leads to jail for technical rule violations and traps young people in the system longer.

GPS rules send California juveniles into jail cycle

Catherine Crump and Kate Weisburd quoted by The Associated Press, July 12, 2017

“People in one county didn’t even know what the county next door’s policies were,” said Catherine Crump, an assistant clinical professor at the UC Berkeley School of Law.

Some counties require a parent be home at all times, that schedules be approved weeks in advance, or that landline phones be set up in the home, which could prove to be a hurdle for a child from a poorer home, said Kate Weisburd, a supervising attorney at the East Bay Community Law Center.

Privacy vs. Security: Experts debate merits of each in tech-rich world

Catherine Crump and John Yoo quoted in Government Technology, June 7, 2017

“The problem with that is you cannot build a backdoor that works only for the U.S. government, good guys or other people with good motives,” Crump argued. “If you build it for them, encryption will be weakened for everyone.”

“It’s possible that a consequence of more encryption might actually be more security for our country. I just don’t see why Apple gets to decide that for the United States,” Yoo said. “I think if that is really a consequence of increasing encryption, then our government, who we elect and send to Washington, should make that call.”

Preventing fake news

Catherine Crump broadcast on C-SPAN, Jan. 19, 2017

“I think one of the things that are new here are the platforms and the ease with which someone can create a new story which, although it may sound fantastical to many of us, appeals to people. A Trump supporter may be inclined to believe things that enhance a particular narrative, and you can easily create something that enhances that narrative. I think the speed with which that can happen is something that is new. We don’t have the same gateway to controlling the media as we traditionally had.”

Oakland privacy commission approves surveillance transparency and oversight law

Catherine Crump quoted by East Bay Express, Jan. 6, 2017

According to Crump, Oakland’s adoption of the ordinance and its various requirements signals to law enforcement agencies that the secret acquisition and use of surveillance technologies like cell phone trackers, drones, and license plate readers, is a problem, and that the solution is to require public hearings and to allow the public to evaluate the costs and benefits of these technologies before they’re deployed.

Oakland may become rare American city with strict rules for spy gear use

Catherine Crump and Deirdre Mulligan cited by Ars Technica, Jan. 6, 2017

Catherine Crump … told the commission that the ordinance it has drafted “is thorough, clear, comprehensive, and has the potential to be adopted nationwide.”

Other members include fellow Oaklanders, representatives from the Oakland Police Department and city administrator’s office, and Deirdre Mulligan, a law professor at UC Berkeley.

Bloomberg law brief: License plate readers in court

Catherine Crump interviewed by Bloomberg, Dec. 28, 2016

“We’re not talking about the police incidentally seeing your license plate as you drive by. No one thinks that’s a problem. … What we’re talking about is, should the police be retaining vast databases, storing license plate readers for months or even years—information that can be revealing of where people go—and the vast majority of which pertains to absolutely innocent people.”