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# Court Weighs Whether Algorithms Can Decide Who Gets Bail
- URL: https://dispatch.themesbykyle.com/court-weighs-whether-algorithms-can-decide-who-gets-bail/
- Published: 2026-11-10T19:54:51.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-13T16:10:25.000Z
- Description: A challenge to a risk-scoring tool used in 40 counties raises a question judges have avoided: who is accountable when software recommends detention?
- Author: Amara Okafor
- Tags: Politics, Courts & Law, #popular

A state appeals court heard arguments on Tuesday in a case that could shape how bail is decided across the country: whether a defendant has a right to see, and challenge, the scoring tool that helped send them to jail.

The tool, used in about forty counties, assigns each defendant a number from one to ten predicting their chance of missing a hearing or being re-arrested. Judges are not required to follow it. Defence lawyers say, in practice, many do.

> “When a machine says ‘high risk’, it takes a brave judge to disagree,” the defendant’s attorney told the panel.

The vendor argues its formula is a trade secret. The state says the tool is advisory. The panel pressed both sides on how a judge could meaningfully weigh a score whose workings nobody in the courtroom can explain. A ruling is expected within weeks.