Wrongful convictions and AI privacy may seem like separate issues, but both raise the same uncomfortable question: what happens when the legal system relies on old assumptions in a changing world? In episode 618 of the Lawyerist Podcast, Zack Glaser talks with Sunny Eaton about conviction review work, evolving science, and why lawyers should not be so quick to surrender privacy expectations in the age of AI.
Sunny shares how her work in the Nashville District Attorney’s Office focuses on reviewing old convictions, identifying new evidence, and helping correct cases where the system may have gotten it wrong. She explains why changing science, including advances in DNA, trauma research, and bias studies, can matter deeply when reviewing criminal convictions.
The conversation then turns to AI, attorney client privilege, client data, and the growing role of data brokers. Zack and Sunny explore whether information shared with AI tools should automatically lose privacy protection, and why lawyers may need to make stronger arguments before courts accept that assumption.
If you are concerned about AI in law firms, client confidentiality, or the future of privacy rights, this episode challenges lawyers to think harder about what should remain private and why it is our job to make the government work for it.
Listen to our previous episodes on AI, Privacy & Legal Ethics.
#612: AI for Lawyers: What You Need to Know Before Your Clients Do, with Cat Casey Apple | Spotify | LTN
#582: Deepfakes, Data, and Duty: Navigating AI Ethics in Law, with Merisa Bowers Apple | Spotify | LTN
#543: What Lawyers Need to Know About the Ethics of Using AI, with Hilary Gerzhoy Apple | Spotify | LTN
#486: How to Safely Include AI in Your Legal Tech Stack, with Will Anoh Apple | Spotify | LTN
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Chapters / Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
01:25 Pruning Your Practice
04:15 When Loyalty Gets in the Way
06:25 Meet Sunny Eaton
08:45 Conviction Review Units
09:50 Reviewing Old Cases
11:25 Building Trust
12:40 What Cases Qualify
14:35 Changing Science
16:00 DNA, Trauma, and Bias
18:05 Case by Case Review
19:25 Bad Science and Old Convictions
20:40 AI and Privacy
22:00 Lawyers, Therapists, and Privacy
23:20 Giving Up Too Quickly on AI Privacy
25:30 Reasonable Expectations of Privacy
26:15 Client Data and AI Risk
29:15 What Email Teaches Us
31:00 Attorney Client Privilege and AI
33:20 Personal vs. Workplace AI Use
34:00 Old Rules, New Technology
35:45 Make the Government Work for It
