Canadian Lawyer

w w w . c a n a d i a n l a w y e r m a g . c o m O C T O B E R 2 0 1 8 51 "The bigger issue [over new forensic tech- niques] is how forensic evidence is vetted by the justice system and how it's evaluated," says Goudge. "Is it reliable enough to act on?" There are groundbreaking types of science, he says, but the justice system needs to continue to evaluate it, and lawyers must remain skepti- cal of presented forensic evidence. The DNA revolution A few decades ago, it would have been the stuff of science fiction. Today, familial DNA search- ing, ancestry and phenotypic trait prediction from DNA, analysis of complex DNA mixtures and digital facial recognition are all being employed in crime labs. In April, Joseph James DeAngelo was arrested in California on suspicion of being the Golden State Killer, who is believed to have committed a string of rapes and murders in California between 1974 and 1986. Police made the arrest based on DNA found at crime scenes that partially matched the DNA of a DeAngelo relation, found on the open-source genealogy website GEDmatch. Familial DNA searching is "a cool new technique coming out of the analysis of com- plex DNA mixtures," says Gruspier, adding that she isn't yet sure how much impact it will have in the criminal justice system. Whereas DNA matching could once be performed only with close kin such as parents, children and siblings, today, science can match DNA from relatives further and further back, she says. "Now, because the entire human genome has been mapped, you can go further away. . . . We're also using new kinds of DNA [tech- niques] to predict what people look like and where they came from," Gruspier adds, not- ing that a company in the United States can identify an individual from DNA, provide information about them and even generate a face. Ancestry and phenotypic trait predic- tions from DNA can be useful in identifying unidentified bodies, she notes. And the analysis of complex DNA mix- tures — from multiple DNA donors at a crime scene — now uses artificial intelligence to separate and identify the DNA. This is a newer technique that Gruspier calls "fascinating," but she wonders how the courts will grapple with accepting the evidence of a machine over that of a human expert. Probabilistic genotyping software is on the rise now, says Caitlin Pakosh, assistant Crown attorney in Hamilton, Ont. She is a former lawyer at Innocence Canada and author of The Lawyer's Guide to the Forensic Sciences. Also used for DNA evidence, probabilistic genotyping soft- ware's purpose is to aid and interpret DNA pro- files, including some DNA samples that might have been previously uninterpretable, she says. "Ultimately, what it's aimed at doing is . . . [improving the] ability to improve samples, particularly complex samples" that involve DNA from more than one source, says Pakosh. The software uses math to evaluate the rela- tionship between two different explanations of the DNA profile, she says. In August 2016, Ontario's Centre of Forensic Sciences approved the use of STRmix, one such type of software. Digital evidence Digital facial recognition, facilitated by the omnipresence of surveillance cameras in today's cities, is one type of digital forensic evi- dence now being employed by police services, which are using facial recognition software to identify perpetrators. Driver's licences, health cards and other government-issued ID include photos of the bearers that are stored in govern- ment databases. A computer can then make a comparison between a database photo and an image caught by surveillance footage. In the past, Gruspier notes, courts have disallowed expert evidence on facial recognition Forensic science today Ideas • Admissibility of evidence in trials • Critique of pattern evidence • Cognitive bias (by police, expert witnesses, judiciary) • Scientific foundations of forensic science Techniques • Familial DNA searching • Ancestry and phenotypic trait prediction from DNA • Analysis of complex DNA mixtures • Digital facial recognition Emerging issues • Portable police lab and black box technology at the scene • Technological advances continue, but fundamental research is still lacking • Digital forensic evidence Provided by Dr. Michael Pollanen, chief forensic pathologist of Ontario and director of the Centre for Forensic Science and Medicine at the University of Toronto. L E G A L R E P O R T www.alainhepner.ca ALAIN HEPNER, QC Criminal Defence (403) 244-6800 921, 18th Ave. SW, Calgary, Alberta T2T 0H2 C A N A D I A N L AW Y E R M A G A Z I N E AW A Y W E T 0 w E C A N A D I A N M A M G A A Z I N E 2018-1 - 9 TO T P O 10 Cr Cri riminal La Law BOU O TIQU Q E U A N L A L W A Y W E Y R M A M 2018-19 TOP 10 Criminal Law BOUTIQUE AlainHepner_CL_Oct_18.indd 1 2018-09-17 5:16 PM

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