Should Artificial Intelligence Be Allowed to Influence Criminal Justice?

By Balthazar Rivera

Artificial intelligence is becoming a bigger part of our everyday lives, and even the criminal justice system is beginning to use it. Police departments and courts have started exploring technology that can help identify suspects, analyze evidence, and make decisions. Although this technology can be helpful, it also raises serious legal concerns about people’s rights and the fairness of the justice system. Will we be safe from the impacts of artificial intelligence?

One major concern is whether artificial intelligence can make unfair or incorrect decisions. AI systems are created using information and data, but that information is not always accurate or fair. If an AI system incorrectly identifies someone as a suspect, that person could face serious consequences. Like in the case of Angela Lipps, a 50-year old grandmother from Tennessee who was arrested at gunpoint by U.S. Marshall's. Terrance Hill with Tech Times states, “North Dakota police matched her to a bank fraud suspect using Clearview AI.” Lars Daniel, a writer for Forbes news states that Ms.Lipps, “spent more than five months in jail after a facial recognition system flagged her as a suspect in a bank fraud case in Fargo, North Dakota. She had never been to North Dakota. She had never been on an airplane.” Ms. Lipps was later released on Christmas eve after her bank records “proved that she was in Tennessee during every single fraud incident.”

This is not the first time that an event where AI has incorrectly flagged someone for committing a crime. Terrance Hill states, “At least eight people have been wrongfully arrested in 2026 alone due to erroneous facial recognition matches, according to documented cases tracked by civil liberties organizations and reported by multiple news outlets.” This brings up an important legal question: Who should be responsible when artificial intelligence makes a mistake that affects someone’s freedom?

Another concern is the constitutional right to due process. In the United States, the Constitution protects people from being unfairly deprived of their freedom. People accused of crimes have the right to challenge evidence and receive a fair trial in court. If artificial intelligence is used to influence decisions about someone’s guilt, people should have the ability to understand and question how those decisions were made. Many judges are also restricting the use of AI. The Legal stack wrote, “As of June 2026, dozens of federal judges have issued standing orders or local rules governing AI-assisted filings.”

In my opinion, artificial intelligence should be allowed to help the criminal justice system, but it should never replace human judgment. Technology can make mistakes, and decisions involving someone’s freedom should not depend entirely on a computer. There should be laws that expand into how AI can be used, who is responsible for mistakes, and how people’s rights will be protected.

Artificial intelligence could improve parts of the criminal justice system, but it also creates legal challenges that society needs to address. The justice system is supposed to treat everyone fairly, and new technology should not change that responsibility. No matter how advanced technology becomes, people should always have the right to a fair trial and equal protection under the law.

Work Cited:

• Daniel, Lars. "Innocent Woman Arrested On Bogus AI Facial Recognition Match: The Failure Was Entirely Human." Forbes, 1 Apr. 2026, www.forbes.com/sites/larsdaniel/2026/04/01/innocent-woman-arrested-on-bogus-ai-facial-recognition-match-the-failure-was-entirely-human/.

• Hill, Terrance. "DC Judge Forces Clearview AI Reveal Arrest Tool After 8 False Arrests." TechTimes, 8 July 2026, www.techtimes.com/articles/319930/20260708/dc-judge-forces-clearview-ai-reveal-arrest-tool-after-8-false-arrests.htm.

• "The Legal AI Judicial Response Report 2026: How Federal and State Courts Are Actually Responding to AI-Assisted Filings — Orders Issued, Sanctions Imposed, and Disclosure Rules Adopted Through June 2026." The Legal Stack, 2026, https://www.thelegalstack.org/research/the-legal-ai-judicial-response-report-2026-how-federal-and .