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The law in computation: What machine learning, artificial intelligence, and big data mean for law and society scholarship. 
Abstract: Computational systems, including machine learning, artificial intelligence, and big data analytics, are not only inescapable parts of social life but are also reshaping the contours of law and legal practice. We propose turning more law and social science (LSS) attention to new technological developments through the study of “law in computation,” that is, computational systems’ integration with regulatory and administrative procedures, the sociotechnical infrastructures that support them, and their impact on how individuals and populations are interpellated through the law. We present a range of cases in three areas of inquiry - algorithmic governance, jurisdiction and agency - on issues such as immigration enforcement, data sovereignty, algorithmic warfare, biometric identity regimes, and gig economies, for which examining law in computation illuminates how new technological systems’ integration with legal processes pushes the distinction between “law on the books” and “law in action” into new domains. We then propose future directions and methods for research. As computational systems become ever more sophisticated, understanding the law in computation is critical not only for LSS scholarship, but also for everyday civics. (DoCarmo T, Rea S, Conaway E, Emery J, Raval N. Law & Policy. 2021;1–30)

For his impassioned teaching, his groundbreaking research, and his leadership of the UMass Poll, Tatishe Nteta, a faculty member since 2007, was recently named a UMass Spotlight Scholar. Read more about Tatishe's achievements at the link below. Congratulations, Tatishe! (UMass Amherst, 5/3/2021)

Raymond La Raja, Professor of Political Science and Associate Director of the UMass Poll at UMass Amherst, will moderate a virtual discussion on Biden’s first 100 days as President, featuring NPR White House correspondent Tamara Keith, as part of the Springfield Public Forum’s Spring Speaker Series on Thursday, May 6. (MassLive, 5/2/21)

Half of Americans surveyed worry about potential voter fraud, two-thirds find Georgia law prohibiting giving food or water to voters as unnecessary, and nearly half think sports leagues should stay out of politics.

new nationwide University of Massachusetts Amherst/WCVB poll released today finds that Americans support a wide variety of election reforms, including both those that make voting easier, but also enacting voter ID requirements.

“From automatic registration to making the option to vote by mail a permanent fixture of American elections, clear majorities of Americans favor making voting easier in the United States,” says Tatishe Nteta, associate professor of political science at UMass Amherst and director of the poll.

Poll finds plurality of respondents say Trump is most responsible for the violence at the Capitol, while a majority supports continuing federal efforts to find, arrest and prosecute the day’s participants. As federal law enforcement officials continue to announce charges and arrests related to the invasion of the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, a new nationwide University of Massachusetts Amherst/WCVB poll released today finds that while a plurality of Americans hold former President Trump responsible for the violence and destruction that day, Republicans are more likely to pin the blame for the day’s events on Democrats. (Press Release, April 27, 2021)

The president receives high marks on his handling of the COVID vaccine rollout and overseeing the economic rebound, while concerns exist over gun violence and immigration at the Mexican border. The full press release is posted below and can be found at the UMass Amherst Office of News & Media relations.

Poll also finds majority support for many police reform measures and doubts among Trump voters over the fairness of Chauvin’s trial and the justification of its outcome.

Results of a new nationwide University of Massachusetts Amherst / WCVB poll released today show that a wide majority of Americans polled in the days immediately following the Derek Chauvin trial believe that the guilty verdict against the former Minneapolis police officer in the murder of George Floyd was justified and that he received a fair trial. A plurality of the poll’s respondents also believes an appropriate sentence for Chauvin would be the maximum length he faces – 40 years in prison. (Press Release, UMass Amherst, 4/24/2021)

Paul Collins, Professor of Legal Studies and Political Science at UMass Amherst, is quoted in a news article exploring the history of “court packing” and calls to expand the Supreme Court from its current roster of nine justices. “I’m not sure that the purpose of introducing the legislation is to actually pass it,” Collins said of the proposal to expand the court. “Instead, I think congressional Democrats are putting Supreme Court justices on notice as they deliberate over controversial cases involving Obamacare, religious liberty, abortion and immigration.” (Newsweek, 4/21/21)

Ray La Raja, Professor of Political Science at UMass Amherst, is quoted in an article about the effect of a decrease in donations from political action committees and a concurrent increase in small donations to former President Trump’s political allies in Congress.  La Raja says increased fundraising from small donors is a “double-edged sword” because “politicians are relying on donors who are more extreme, and to reach those donors, the politicians have to message in more extreme ways.” (CNN, 4/17/21)

Rebecca Hamlin Publishes A New Book: "Crossing: How We Label and React to People on the Move" with Stanford University Press. 

Today, the concept of "the refugee" as distinct from other migrants looms large. Immigration laws have developed to reinforce a dichotomy between those viewed as voluntary, often economically motivated, migrants who can be legitimately excluded by potential host states, and those viewed as forced, often politically motivated, refugees who should be let in. In Crossing, Rebecca Hamlin argues against advocacy positions that cling to this distinction. Everything we know about people who decide to move suggests that border crossing is far more complicated than any binary, or even a continuum, can encompass. (Stanford University Press, April 2021)

 

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