Technology advances constantly and the field of forensic science is better for it. If you are facing criminal charges, you may be concerned about how advances in forensic science and technology may affect your case. In the paragraphs below, a criminal lawyer in Brampton explains how an attorney could challenge evidence collected using new forensic techniques and how they can leverage advances in technology to build your defence.
What is Forensic Science?
Forensic science applies scientific principles and techniques to investigate crimes and collect and analyze evidence. Although we associate forensic science with modern policing, it dates back to ancient times when fingerprints were used to identify people.
What Are Some Recent Advances in Forensic Science?
Scientific research and its applications to forensics are constantly advancing. Here are some of the newer techniques and technologies being used to investigate and prosecute crimes:
Blood pattern analysis software.
Automated fingerprint matching.
Technology-assisted crime scene reconstruction.
Rapid DNA analysis, which can give results in 90 minutes or less.
Touch DNA, which can recover DNA from surfaces that someone touched for a few seconds.
Nanoparticle analysis of crime scene evidence to detect tiny amounts of trace evidence.
More than ever, defendants need a good criminal lawyer with Brampton experience who understands the way police use these sophisticated technologies in the GTA.
How Can a Criminal Lawyer in Brampton Challenge Forensic Evidence?
Forensic techniques and technologies are increasingly powerful and sensitive, offering police and prosecutors more ways to investigate crimes and develop cases. At the same time, the novelty of these recent advances opens up possibilities for the defence. A criminal lawyer for Brampton cases could challenge evidence with the following arguments:
The Evidence Was Improperly Collected
A good criminal lawyer for Brampton clients could closely examine the way the evidence was collected and handled and point out errors that could have led to the evidence being invalid or inadmissible. With new techniques and technologies, there will always be differences in the precision and sophistication used in laboratories where these techniques were developed and tested, as well as the way evidence is collected in the field.
The Evidence Could Have Become Contaminated
In the chain of custody between the scene of a crime and a laboratory, evidence can easily be misplaced or mishandled. A criminal lawyer in Brampton would raise concerns about any breaks in the chain of custody or anything that could have contaminated the evidence as it made its way from the crime scene. Although this is not a new defence technique, some new technologies have vulnerabilities previous ones may not have had.
The Technology or Technique Is Flawed
Applications of science are sometimes imperfect and can be challenged when new information or disconfirming research calls those applications into question. For example, hair microscopy (comparison of hair found at the crime scene with a suspectโs hair) was used for decades in criminal cases. However, it was discovered that hair characteristics were not unique enough to identify someone, and hair microscopy is no longer used.
An excellent criminal lawyer in Brampton will be well-versed in controversies regarding new forensic techniques. Wherever possible, they will leverage these controversies to have evidence excluded from their clientsโ cases.
The Findings Were Misinterpreted
Test results must be read, interpreted, and incorporated into the prosecutionโs case, and there may be subjective judgment involved in the process. A criminal lawyer for Brampton cases may offer alternative interpretations based on the analysis of their own experts.
Other Evidence Contradicts the Prosecutionโs Case
Police and prosecutors are not the only ones who can use forensic science tools. A criminal lawyer in Brampton can also leverage forensic science to show that the prosecutionโs case is flawed. Indeed, many people found guilty of crimes were later exonerated by DNA testing that was developed after their conviction.
For example, the police and the prosecution may have conducted a reconstruction of the crime scene to show that the defendant is guilty. If a forensic scientist hired by the defendantโs lawyer had technology that allowed them to make a 3D model of the crime scene, they might be able to convincingly show that the prosecutionโs reconstruction could not be accurate.
Additional Evidence Shows Mitigating Factors
A good criminal lawyer in Brampton could bring in additional evidence that helps the defendant. For example, digital forensics such as smartphone GPS data, WiFi connection logs, digital financial transactions, and data from smart home devices could show that the defendant was not at the scene of the crime when the crime was committed.
How a Criminal Lawyer in Brampton Can Help
Sophisticated forensic evidence can make a defendant feel helpless in proving their innocence, but there are two things to remember. First, the defendant does not have to prove that they are innocent but must only raise a reasonable doubt about the prosecutionโs case. An excellent lawyer in Brampton will work to create this doubt in the minds of the judge or jury.
Second, forensic evidence does not only benefit the prosecution; there are many ways in which it can be challenged, especially if it is new, involves a long chain of custody, uses novel technologies or techniques, or entails subjective interpretations. Keep in mind that the police and the prosecution are not necessarily on the leading edge of science, but a great lawyer in Brampton can hire experts who are.
About Zamani Law
If you are facing criminal prosecution and need legal representation, choose the highly-respected criminal lawyer in Brampton: Farid Zamani. He and his team will examine the evidence against you in full detail, noting any flaws or inconsistencies, and use those to mount a superior defence for you.
Zamani Law is proud to have successfully defended hundreds of people accused of crimes in Toronto, Brampton, the GTA, and the surrounding communities, challenging sophisticated evidence and crime scene reconstructions.
Contact Zamani Law today for a free consultation.
