Not all data is created equal. The quality of information depends on how it’s collected, stored, retrieved and interpreted. At every step there is potential for error, human and mechanical. And misguided confidence in the infallibility of machine generated information, or human judgment, renders probable cause improbable. Thus, in an era when databases have become commonplace extensions of human logic and memory, the data heavy transactions of law enforcement require meaningful case-by-case scrutiny.
Data Stops
Traffic stops today are enriched by access to data collected from motor vehicle departments and law enforcement agencies and thus have become data stops. The latest decision concerning the accuracy, validity and reliability of such data comes from the Kentucky Court of Appeals in Willoughby v. Commonwealth, 2014 Ky. App. LEXIS 5 (Jan. 10, 2014).
