Latest 3 Cases: State v. Johnson (Civil Rights), State v. Thomas (Civil Rights), State v. Reames (Criminal Law)

The Physician’s Conundrum: Assigning Moral Responsibility for Medical Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

CHARLES E. BINKLEY

Charles E. Binkley, director of bioethics at Santa Clara University’s Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, describes some critical ethical issues raised by the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) systems for clinical decision support in medicine. Dr. Binkley calls for resolution of these issues before these emerging technologies are widely implemented.

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State v. Johnson

Citation: 308 Neb. 331

Opinion Date: February 5, 2021

Judge: Lindsey Miller-Lerman

Areas of Law: Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's convictions and sentences for five counts of robbery, five counts of use of a weapon to commit a felony, one count of second-degree assault, and one count of attempted escape, holding that Defendant was not entitled to relief on his assignments of error. Specifically, the Supreme Court held (1) the district court did not err when it overruled Defendant's motion to suppress statements he made while in custody; (2) the district court did not err in overruling Defendant's motion to suppress evidence of witness identifications from photographic lineups; (3) there was sufficient evidence to support the district court's finding that Defendant failed to prove the insanity defense; and (4) Defendant's sentences were not excessive.

State v. Thomas

Citation: 308 Neb. 312

Opinion Date: February 5, 2021

Judge: Freudenberg

Areas of Law: Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, possession of a controlled substance, and possession of marijuana, holding that the district court did not err in denying Defendant's motion to suppress. In his suppression motion, Defendant sought to suppress evidence found in his vehicle during a felony traffic stop. The stop was initiated based on law enforcement's belief that Defendant's vehicle matched the description in a police bulletin of a vehicle used in a shooting committed three days prior. In his motion to suppress, Defendant argued that the police bulletin was insufficient to justify the traffic stop. The Supreme Court affirmed the district court's denial of the suppression motion, holding (1) the felony traffic stop was a tier-two police-citizen encounter; and (2) the law enforcement officers had reasonable suspicion to conduct an investigatory stop of Defendant's vehicle based on the police bulletin alone.

State v. Reames

Citation: 308 Neb. 361

Opinion Date: February 5, 2021

Judge: Funke

Areas of Law: Criminal Law

The Supreme Court dismissed Defendant's appeal of her sentence of probation stemming from her conviction of one count of possession of a controlled substance, holding that the Court lacked jurisdiction to hear this matter. A jury found Defendant guilty of one count of possession of a controlled substance. On March 17, 2020, the district court sentenced Defendant to one year of probation. On March 20, 2020, the court entered an amended order of probation allowing Defendant to reside in Kansas instead of Nebraska. The rest of the March 17 sentencing order remained in effect. On appeal, Defendant argued that she received ineffective assistance of counsel when her trial counsel failed to timely appeal from the March 17 sentencing order. The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction, holding that there was no proper, timely appeal in this case.