Advanced Visual Representations in International Criminal Prosecutions
The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands will soon deliver its judgement in the case of Prosecutor v. Al Hassan. From an image-based evidence perspective, this case is significant because the prosecution relied upon advanced visual representations of key location evidence as part of its case and presented the testimony of...
Frame by Frame Analysis and the Use of Spotlighting Accepted in Murder Prosecution
In R. v. Ahmed, 2021 ONSC 2141 (Ontario Superior Court of Justice), the defendant was charged with murder arising out of a shooting in an Ottawa nightclub. He admitted shooting the deceased but claimed that he acted in self defence and lacked the necessary intent for murder. Presentation and expert analysis of the video obtained...
Legal Considerations and Recommendations for the Use of Terrestrial LiDAR Scanning for Criminal Justice Applications
Jonathan W. Hak, Q.C., Dipl., B.Sc., LL.B., LL.M., PhD Candidate[i] Introduction Accurate and detailed depictions of crime scenes, areas of interest, and objects provide investigators, counsel, and the court with data necessary to more fulsomely comprehend available evidence and to understand what occurred.[ii] Scene measurements, including the location of objects and features within the...
California Court of Appeal Rules Upon the Propriety of Forensic Video Analysis Techniques Utilized by Expert
The California Court of Appeal recently had occasion to review certain forensic video analysis techniques employed by a forensic expert for the purpose of determining whether they were properly admitted at trial and additionally whether they constituted novel science, thus requiring a Kelly-Frye hearing. In People v. Tran, 2020 WL 3056213, the state presented evidence from...