This is the Cato Daily Podcast for Wednesday, March 18th, 2020.

I'm Caleb Brown.

What does the coronavirus pandemic mean for due process for the criminally

accused?

Clark Neely is Cato's Vice President for Criminal Justice. We discuss the ways in

which city and state courts are responding to the outbreak and why the end of some heavy-handed

tactics used by prosecutors are a small silver lining during this difficult time.

I think the most important thing that the criminal justice system can do in response to the so-called

coronavirus epidemic is to realize that locking people up for no particularly good reason

was always a very bad idea from a policy standpoint

and also immoral.

And I think what the situation is really impressing upon some people is the magnitude of the significance of not only taking away

somebody's liberty but putting them into a potentially very hazardous

situation one where the government necessarily becomes

responsible, entirely responsible for that person's health and well-being. I think

that unfortunately a number of sort of state local and even the federal

government have taken that responsibility pretty lightly at times and putting

large numbers of people together in one place without a particularly good reason in the current circumstances.

I think people are beginning to realize what a terrible idea that is and what an enormous responsibility it is to accept soul responsibility for another person's health and well being.

That's always a great responsibility. And again, one I think

that the government has often taken too lightly, but now in the context of this

epidemic, I think many government actors are really beginning to realize the true significance of becoming solely responsible for a person's well-being when you have them in custody.

...