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The Legal Aid Society’s Digital Forensics Unit invites you to our 4th annual Decrypting a Defense conference on Tuesday, May 20.
8:30am – 9:00am Registration & Light Refreshments
9:00am – 9:10am Introduction & Welcome Remarks
9:10am – 10:10am Reel Talk – Part 1: The Fundamentals of Video Evidence and its Admissibility in Court
10:10am – 11:05am Not at Face Value: Demanding More from Facial Recognition Technology
11:05am – 11:15am Break
11:15am – 12:10pm Challenging Pen Registers, GPS Pinging, and Cell Site Simulators
12:10pm – 1:25pm Lunch
1:25pm – 2:25pm Reel Talk – Part 2: A Defense Perspective on the Use of Compilation Videos in the Courtroom
2:25pm – 3:20pm Wearables, The Cloud, and Other Sources of Data
3:20pm – 3:30pm Break
3:30pm – 4:45pm Truth or Tech – Navigating AI-Generated Evidence in the Courtroom
4:45pm – 4:55pm Closing Remarks
Diane Akerman, Staff Attorney, Digital Forensics Unit, Legal Aid Society Christopher Pelletier, Analyst, Digital Forensics Unit, Legal Aid Society
It is rare to see a case that doesn’t involve video of some kind – whether MTA surveillance, building surveillance, or from a personal device. Using that video isn’t as simple as hitting the play button. In part one of this CLE, we’ll cover the technical aspects of video, proper preservation, and forensic analysis. We’ll also cover proper authentication – both forensically and legally, and how to object to improper use of video by the prosecution at grand jury or trial.
1.0 CLE credits in Areas of Professional Practice
Tamar Lerer, Deputy Public Defender, Forensic Science Unit, New Jersey Office of the Public Defender
Facial recognition “matches” are trapping defendants in police investigations. But there’s a lot we need to know about any facial recognition system, its inputs, and its outputs, to understand a match. This CLE discusses how to contextualize a match in your case, what discovery to ask for, and what to do when you don’t get it.
Jerome D. Greco, Director, Digital Forensics Unit, Legal Aid Society
PRTT, E-911 pinging, NELOS, LOCDBOR, etc. Search warrants for tracking cell phones in real time are littered with acronyms and industry terms, hiding the significant invasions of privacy and legal issues. This presentation will explore the world of device tracking, as well as how to identify the surveillance technologies used in your clients’ cases and legal methods to challenge them.
Joel Schmidt, Staff Attorney, Digital Forensics Unit, Legal Aid Society| Lisa Brown, Senior Analyst, Digital Forensics Unit, Legal Aid Society
Compilation videos in the grand jury, compilation videos at trial, it seems compilation videos are everywhere these days. The proliferation of surveillance cameras is making the use of compilation videos more common than ever before. We will cover the various legal and technical arguments that may be available to challenge the admissibility of compilation videos, and when they can be legally admissible and beneficial in support of the defense case.
Gregory Herrera, Staff Attorney, Digital Forensics Unit, Legal Aid Society Brandon Reim, Senior Analyst, Digital Forensics Unit, Legal Aid Society
Since data sources vary from case to case, this presentation will explore some alternative sources of potential evidence. We will cover fitness/smart watch data and how it keeps track of health, location, and more. We will also look at cloud data and what popular services await us in the cloud. Finally, we will take a peek at some data from unlikely places.
Brian Chase, Managing Director of Digital Forensics and eDiscovery, Archer Hall
As technology advances, the manipulation of digital content has become more sophisticated and accessible than ever. It is now easier to generate or alter photos, videos, audio recordings, and even handwriting, raising critical questions about the integrity of evidence presented in legal proceedings. With the rise of AI-generated content, we must consider how these advancements can potentially compromise the reliability of evidence in court.
1.5 CLE credits in Ethics