Aliza Hochman Bloom
@ahochmanbloom.bsky.social
Law Professor at @NUSL | Crim Pro / Crim / Fourth Amendment / Sentencing Reform | Alum Federal Public Defender (Appeals)
SCOTUS reversed the D.C. Circuit's decision in In re R.W., which "rejected articulable suspicion arguments based upon guilt by association,” reasoning that although the defendant did not run, "his companion's flight cast his presence in a suspicious light." www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p....
supremecourt.gov
Grateful that "Suspicion by Association" was just published by the Arizona Law Review. I present contexts where police rely on the behavior of a person's companions to justify interventions, and argue this is antithetical to Fourth Amendment doctrine. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Suspicion by Association
<p>The constitutional requirement that police have individualized suspicion before a stop, search, or arrest was an essential limitation on the state’s power. I
papers.ssrn.com
Thanks to @ssrn.bsky.social for highlighting my essay, out in the Stanford Law Review Online. I argue that changing landscape about the suspiciousness of carrying a gun lends to overreliance on associational suspicion when justifying police interventions.
SSRN@ssrn.bsky.social · 5mo agoThis article critiques the Fifth Circuit’s ruling in #UnitedStates v. Wilson that gun possession alone doesn’t justify a stop but upheld it due to defendant’s associations & arrest history. Read: spkl.io/63321AFGF1 Subscribe: spkl.io/63323AFGFH @nusl.bsky.social
Officers stop car w/man & his girlfriend. They arrest him. Having reasonable suspicion there's a gun in the car, they conduct a sweep of the car & find the gun before letting her return to it. CA10, 2-1: Sweep violated the 4A, as there was no reason to think she was dangerous.
My recent article, “Known to Police: the Revival of Juvenile Curfews”, is forthcoming in Volume 62 of the Wake Forest Law Review. It examines the Fourth Amendment and carceral implications of resurgent juvenile curfews. Feedback is welcome! papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Known to Police: the Revival of Juvenile Curfews
A few years ago, in response to an uptick in crime rates, many cities revived a familiar tool-juvenile curfews. Yet unlike prior iter
papers.ssrn.com
I'm so grateful to the excellent editors at @stanlrev.bsky.social for quickly publishing this essay on an important tension in Fourth Amendment law.
Stanford Law Review@stanlrev.bsky.social · 9mo agoExpanding public-carry regimes challenge Terry’s reasonable-suspicion standard. In some states, suspected gun possession alone can’t justify stops. @ahochmanbloom.bsky.social warns an emerging “firearm exceptionalism” sustains racialized, hindsight-based policing.
I've posted a draft essay, titled "The Emerging Firearms Hypocrisy of Terry," which is forthcoming in @stanlrev.bsky.social. It discusses this summer's decision in U.S. v. Wilson and problematic privileging of 2A rights in 4A analysis. Comments are welcome! papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Happy to share my new article in the Illinois Law Review: "Policing Bias Without Intent" illinoislawreview.org/uncategorize...
Policing Bias Without Intent
In December of 2019, a woman was robbed in Jersey City, and she quickly reported it to a 911 dispatcher. When the dispatcher asked her whether the suspect was “Black, white or Hispanic,” she respo...
illinoislawreview.org
It is gratifying to see people rely on my work in practice and to be cited alongside scholars whose work I deeply admire.
Northeastern Law@nusl.bsky.social · 12mo agoAn opinion released by the D.C. Court of Appeals cites @ahochmanbloom.bsky.social’s recent Stanford Journal of Civil Rights & Civil Liberties article on why courts must account for race in their Fourth Amendment jurisprudence. #NUSLPride law.northeastern.edu/hochman-bloo...
Professor Aliza Hochman Bloom @ahochmanbloom.bsky.social presents her work-in-progress, ”Reexamining the Exclusionary Rule at Revocation,“ this morning at the 2025 CrimFest, hosted by @penncareylaw.bsky.social! #NUSLPride www.law.upenn.edu/calendar/eve...
Felony murder convictions should not rest on underlying felonies that lack an intent requirement. On Friday, along with Professor Caitlin Glass of @bulaw.bsky.social and @sentencingproject.bsky.social, we filed an amicus brief in Jewell v. Florida. www.macarthurjustice.org/case/rhonda-...
Rhonda Jewell v. State of Florida - MacArthur Justice
Rhonda Jewell is a kind and decent person who, in July 2023, had a devastating memory lapse—she forgot a beloved child in a parked vehicle. It is a heart-wrenching mistake that thousands of loving par...
macarthurjustice.org
The MA SJC, despite recognizing that "blading" lacks a consistent definition, again relied on this ambiguous behavior to find reasonable suspicion. We must challenge judicial deference to this and other vague conduct. www.californialawreview.org/print/whack-...
Whack-A-Mole Reasonable Suspicion — California Law Review
This Article examines police officers’ and deferential courts’ emerging reliance on the term “blading” or “blading away,” as a behavior supporting the reasonable suspicion constitutionally required fo...
californialawreview.org
Orin Kerr@orinkerr.bsky.social · last yr.Tonight at @nusl.bsky.social, our students were so fortunate to watch The Strike, and to speak with its creators and protagonist. It is a powerful documentary about resisting the use of solitary confinement in prison. bit.ly/3X3mH9R
The Strike – Watch the trailer for the new prison documentary
Amidst the redwood trees on the California-Oregon border sits one of the most infamous prisons in US history. Pelican Bay is a labyrinthine construction of [...]
bit.ly
"Suspicion by Association" explores four troubling policing contexts in which individuals become the subject of criminal suspicion based on the company they keep. It's forthcoming in Arizona Law Review, and I welcome all feedback. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
SUSPICION BY ASSOCIATION
The constitutional requirement that police have individualized suspicion prior to a stop, search or arrest was an essential limitation on the state's power. It
papers.ssrn.com
Appreciate ABC7 giving me and my UChicago Fed Crim Justice Clinic the chance to highlight an example of the judiciary having the courage to do what the law requires and be the bulwark against incursions on our constitutional & statutorily protected rights & liberties
UChicago Law@uchicagolaw.bsky.social · 2y ago“This man has to be released unless the prosecutor can actually prove that there is a, quote, ‘serious risk’ that he will flee the jurisdiction if he's released and they would need to prove that by what we call a preponderance of the evidence,” Clinical Prof. @alisonsiegler.bsky.social told ABC7.
Loved having the chance to meet new Federal Public Defenders from across the country at the Baby Defender orientation seminar last week and train them on zealously litigating pretrial release using our @uchicagolaw.bsky.social Federal Crim Justice Clinic’s study: freedomdenied.law.uchicago.edu
Freedom Denied
Freedom Denied How the Culture of Detention Created a Federal Jailing Crisis
freedomdenied.law.uchicago.edu
“I am more convinced than ever that we must stop the use of the death penalty at the federal level…In good conscience, I cannot stand back & let a new administration resume executions that I halted.” www.nytimes.com/2024/12/23/u...
Biden Commutes 37 Death Sentences Ahead of Trump’s Plan to Resume Federal Executions
Those affected by the president’s action on Monday are still subject to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Three men will remain on federal death row.
nytimes.com
Thank you, @inquest.bsky.social, for publishing this short essay on the disappointing outcome in Comm. v. Gelin, and the urgent need to rethink policing realities and constitutional protection for those serving community supervision.
Inquest@inquest.bsky.social · 2y agoThe right to be free from unreasonable government intrusion means nothing to the millions subject to probation—by far the most common form of criminal punishment in the United States, writes @ahochmanbloom.bsky.social. Just because it's "not prison" is not a reason to give this practice a pass.
I was privileged to partner with @caitlinlglass.bsky.social and @robertchang.bsky.social on this amicus brief. We are hopeful to shed light on the biased injustice that is felony murder liability.
Northeastern Law@nusl.bsky.social · 2y agoProfessor Aliza Hochman Bloom @ahochmanbloom.bsky.social has co-authored an amicus brief that highlights the injustices of the felony-murder doctrine. #NUSLPride law.northeastern.edu/professor-al...
Thrilled to see this in your amazing and growing repository for advocates. Than you.
Eve Brensike Primus@primuseve.bsky.social · 2y agoNew Data for Defenders motion to discount police descriptions of suspects as “blading,” b/c it's conclusory & describes amorphous, innocuous, contradictory behavior, especially when applied to Black and brown people who are trained to fear and avoid police. www.datafordefenders.org
Kate Weisburd and I have a new empirical paper out in the Northwestern University Law Review! We ask: what do ordinary Americans believe about how Miranda rights are invoked? t.co/fjpjlJ4vUY 1/4
