Risk Assessment

For a few years when I served as a judge, I chaired the Minnesota Supreme Court Technology Advisory Committee.  During this time, the Courts revamped their computerized case management system.  I had never been involved in a computer programming project, and learned a lot!

One of the tasks involved in the project was to routinely perform a Risk Assessment.  We’d brainstorm a list of things that could possibly go wrong.  We’d then examine each risk to determine how likely the risk was to occur (slight to probable) and the consequences resulting from the risk if it did occur (none/small to catastrophic).

A probable risk with little damage did not get much attention.  A probable risk with severe consequences got a LOT of attention.  And so did an improbable risk with catastrophic consequences.  As best as they could, the programmers and project managers s built processes into the system to lessen the chance of a serious setback to the project that could have been prevented. 

In my work as a judge on the bench, too, I did risk assessments – though not as formal as the one for the computer project.  I would routinely have to decide whether to give a criminal one more chance.  These were not easy decisions, but I would sometimes reinstate a DUI defendant on probation or decline to commit to an institution a convicted sex offender.  Do I worry about those decisions?  Yes, but I don’t obsess about them.  In the words of Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, I did the best I could with what I had.

I must say, however, that every day that the I-Team cameras are not outside my door - looking for a quote on how could I have done X, Y or Z - is a good day in my life.

What does this have to do with tolerance?  Well, the easiest and safest thing to do when faced with any level of risk is to just say no.  it is also the most dishonest.

As a nation, we have apparently just said no to any immigrants from certain selected, mostly Muslim, countries.  A more honest approach would be to thoroughly vet applications and realize that, no matter how cautious we are, a possibly tragic mistake could be made.

It is the honest thing to do.  It is the courageous thing to do.

It is the American thing to do.