ABSTRACT
Criminal justice systems have long aimed at preventing judges’ subjectivity from having any impact in the courtroom. In order to make sense of this we explore the notion of subjectivity in the legal context and argue that there are different types of subjectivity, some of which are truly undesired and some of which are in compliance with the values of the system and should thus be welcomed. Regardless, with the advancement of big data related technologies it has become more and more common to use such tools in criminal justice as well. The new development could be beneficial in many aspects, they promise informed decisions devoid of bias, a system that is more just and so on. However, it is still too early to welcome such changes with open arms and begin depending on algorithms to make better judgments, and we need to consider the many different aspects that should be part of the decision if, when and how to use them.
