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Advanced Evidence
Professor Peter Tillers
Cardozo Law School


Is It Proper to Draw Inferences about an Individual Based on an Individual's Membership in a Group?

  • How is it possible to draw inferences about an individual without relying on the group or groups to which the individual belongs?

    • Problem: Prison Yard

    Commonwealth v. Tirado (1977) (Puerto Rican machismo?)

    United States v. Abel (1984) (Aryan Brotherhood)

    Dawson v. Delaware (1992) (Aryan Brotherhood)

    Wisconsin v. Mitchell (1993)

    United States v. Thomas (1996) (Mafia Lords)

    Barnes v. City of New York (2002) (Five Percenters)

    United States v. Shonubi ("Shonubi IV"), 103 F.3d 1085 (2d Cir., 1997) (Nigerian swallowers of balloons stuffed with heroin-larded paste who were arrested for drug trafficking at JFK airport during a ca. two-year period)

    United States v. Shonubi ("Shonubi V"), 962 F. Supp. 370 (E.D.N.Y. 1997) (Weinstein, J., chides Second Circuit for prescribing an analogue to medieval quantitative valuation of different forms of evidence; the irony is perfect and was probably intended)

    P. Tillers, United States v. Shonubi: A Statistical Oddity?

    Colyvan, Ferson & Regan, Is It a Crime to Belong to a Reference Class?

    Blog: Are You Burdened by Your Reference Classes? (July 10, 2004)

    P. Tillers, If Wishes Were Horses: Discursive Comments on Attempts to Prevent Individuals from Being Unfairly Burdened by Their Reference Classes

    Groups (of People) and Inferences about Individual Members of Groups (of People): Thoughts Provoked by Professor Sharon Davies – but through absolutely no fault of hers! (Aug. 29, 2002).


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