State v. Miles

Amicus brief arguing for the ability of people accused of crimes to learn about the facial recognition technology used against them and challenge the technology’s limitations.

This case, pending before the New Jersey Supreme Court, will decide whether prosecutors are obligated under the United States Supreme Court precedent Maryland v. Brady and New Jersey’s broad discovery rules to disclose technical information to defendants about any face recognition technology (FRT) used in the course of investigation. The State is arguing that they are not under such an obligation.

Facial recognition technology is a very error-prone technology in the law enforcement context, bringing with it the high risk of misidentifying suspects and identifying innocent people as the perpetrators of crime. That risk is especially pronounced for people of color. Without technical information about facial recognition technology used against them, defendants are deprived of the opportunity to challenge those systems and explain how their limitations might undermine the state’s investigation.

The Court will be reviewing for the first time the Appellate Division’s earlier decision in State v. Arteaga, which ruled in favor of an individual’s right to obtain discovery information about the facial recognition systems used to investigate them.