Every criminal case has two primary sides: Prosecution and Defense. Within the defense side of a case you have defendants that can afford a private attorney and expert witnesses. For poor and indigent defendants, the government generally provides funding for an attorney and maybe an investigator. Since 1963,
"In the landmark case, Gideon v. Wainwright, 371 U.S. 335 (1963), the U. S. Supreme Court required that states provide attorneys to indigent defendants accused of a crime." (LINK) The state prosecutors/law enforcement have resources for digital forensic experts, the defendants who are well-off and can afford private attorneys/experts, but what about indigent clients? We have a pricing model that makes our services cost-effective AND we provide high quality and internationally accredited services to a segment of the population that is historically underserved.
For a defense attorney it means that you must have access to a third party, trusted, subject matter expert that can assist you with maneuvering the intricacies of digital evidence and digital forensic experts that are presented against your client's interests. Prosecutors and law enforcement have resources that are used to identify, collect, analyze, and document digital evidence against your client. There are over 18,000 LE agencies in the United States of which, only 80 of them have an internationally accredited digital forensics lab (According to ANAB and the ANSI National Accreditation Board). ANAB is the leading accreditation providers in the United States for international accreditations of forensic labs. None are available as a resource to you as a defense attorney.
That means over 17,000 LE agencies and prosecutorial offices do not have experts that know or operate according to industry and international standards. VLS’ In House lab is one of only 2 labs that are available to you. We are accredited to the same standards as the LE labs. We are a independent, third, party that you can trust. What this means to you is you have subject matter experts available to you....
If the IACP stance that every case has a digital nexus is correct, that means that you and your client must be prepared to review, analyze, and when applicable, dispute the findings and practices presented in the case against your client that involve digital evidence.
If the State is presenting evidence from a vehicle's infotainment system, are you prepared to know that it was done correctly? What about a cell phone? What about a computer? Social media content?
When preparing for trial, do you know what you should ask the State's experts during voir dire?
We are here to assist in each of these areas.
What does this mean?