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PUBLISHER'S NOTE: Click on link below ('in a lawsuit') for the actual document initiating the lawsuit. It sets out some really scary allegations. Also significant: It appears to confirm the existence of a crime detection logarithm used by the county.
STORY: "Federal judge rejects sheriff's office's attempt to dismiss lawsuit challenging 'predictive policing' program," published by 10 Tampa Bay on August 4, 2021.
SUB-HEADING: "The ruling means the families who filed the lawsuit will have their day in court."
GIST: "A federal judge rejected the Pasco County Sheriff's motion to dismiss a case against Sheriff Chris Nocco's Orwellian "predictive policing" program, the Institute of Justice said in a release Wednesday.
In a lawsuit filed by Pasco County families back in March, Nocco was accused of punishing people "for crimes they have not committed and may never commit" - in a practice called predictive policing.
Judge Steven D. Merryday issued an order denying the Pasco County sheriff's motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
"Today’s decision is an important step toward the ultimate dismantling of the program," Ari Bargil, an attorney at the Institute for Justice, which represents the families.
Rep. Matt Gaetz suggested Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis use his authority to remove a Pasco County sheriff accused of overseeing a policing program that improperly targeted and harassed residents.
Nocco's office calls the description of the program false and its Intelligence-Led Policing program is guided by a person’s criminal history or a school student’s characterization as being at risk.
The program allegedly violates first, fourth, and fourteenth amendment rights, according to the Institute for Justice.
The entire story can be read at:
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog; -----------------------------------------------------------------
FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they’ve exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
