NAPD Virtual Tech Expo 2026

Imagine a world where you can easily navigate exponential amounts of data stored in various formats and systems to identify critical connections that could change the course of a case. A world where AI-powered tools help you find the proverbial needle in the haystack. Where data is a resource instead of a task in your day, where tools find meaningful and actionable insights, provide a clearer roadmap for advocacy, and ensure equal treatment for all. This is the power of human-machine collaboration – a force multiplier in the pursuit of justice.

This session will explore realistic/practical opportunities for public defenders to leverage existing tools and resources to amplify impact, reduce disparities, and redefine what's possible. Combining human expertise with machine learning can level the playing field, reveal hidden patterns, and empower advocates as we work to deliver on the promise of Fundamental Fairness under the law. Join us as we redefine what's possible in public defense, one data point at a time. Together, we can create a future where justice is truly blind and Fundamental Fairness is a reality for all, including you!

Hundreds of jail calls dumped right before trial. More and more body cameras in each case. Digital discovery often holds critical pieces of evidence that change the course of the case, but requires hours of searching for the "needle in the haystack" moments.

Last year, the Tennessee District Public Defenders Conference rolled out a new software platform called JusticeText to automatically transcribe their voluminous discovery. In this discussion, you will hear from the agency's Training Director Kevin McGee who has incorporated this AI tool in her workflow to save hours reviewing body-worn camera footage and securing fairer outcomes for his clients. This session will help you maximize the utility of video evidence while minimizing the workload burden to you and your team.

In this session, learn how you can use cutting edge AI tools to transcribe, clip, translate, and redact important moments from video evidence to strengthen your case. We will also introduce MirandaAI, a powerful AI assistant designed to supercharge your discovery review. This latest release allows attorneys to generate case timelines, surface inconsistent statements, and identify supporting facts for a given case theory - all within seconds.

Can’t wait until the session? Learn more about JusticeText, the UChicago school-project built specifically for public defenders, by watching this short video about our partnership with the Harris County Public Defender's Office.

https://justicetext.com/

Public defense workloads are increasing, and one major culprit is the huge influx of digital evidence—from body-worn camera footage to jail calls—making it more onerous than ever to review all of your discovery. This talk explores how AI can ease the burden of reviewing hours and hours of audio and video discovery, offering tools like “Ctrl-F” to quickly locate critical evidence.
Using example case ‘archetypes,’ we will showcase how AI tools address the unique challenges public defenders face, such as:

• Reviewing a variety of audio/video discovery
• Working with huge volumes of discovery (think 100s of jail calls)
• Reviewing recordings of the same event from many police officer body cams
• Working with recordings in another language
• Extracting and presenting evidence in a compelling way

In addition, the talk will share a framework for categorizing AI tools, and share typical accuracies across different “types” of AI tools, so you can assess how reliable they can be for real world use cases.

Public defenders face unique challenges in navigating the expanding landscape of digital evidence and adapting to rapidly evolving technology. In this session, “Engineering Justice for Tomorrow: From Legacy Systems to AI Innovation,” we’ll explore the technological journey of public defense, from outdates legacy systems to cutting-edge AI-driven solutions. This session will highlight how Axon is leveraging AI to develop solutions that enhance efficiency and support decision-making, all while maintaining a steadfast commitment to transparency, accountability, and ethical integrity. We’ll also discuss the potential risks associated with AI, and how Axon’s approach is designed to safeguard against them. Join us to learn how Axon’s AI-powered innovations can help public defenders manage the complexities of modern justice while preserving the core values of fairness and equity.

Public defense teams are navigating an evolving landscape where technology, especially AI, possess the potential to transform workflows and support employee sustainability. But how do we move people to adopt and embrace these innovations? This session will showcase a real-world example of efficiency in action from Brett Schandelson of the State of Montana. We will demystify the process of AI adoption, emphasizing a human-centric approach that prioritizes education, team alignment, and practical implementation strategies.

The volume, velocity, and variety of digital evidence is growing at an exponential rate, presenting a huge challenge for defense attorneys.

In this session, we’ll discuss how AI-powered Digital Evidence Management can digitally transform the critical work that you do, every day.

Criminal defense attorneys have used AI to inform their defense strategies, while also restoring balance to the criminal justice system by holding all parties in check. AI is also helping to tame information overload by automating legal research and evidence analysis.

Join us to learn how to:

• Automate evidence collection to access it sooner
• Cut case preparation time, costs, and reduce case backlog
• Make previously unsearchable evidence types searchable, using Object Character Recognition (OCR)
• Uncover hidden connections to ensure you’re not missing any evidence
• Automate transcription of audio and video, and quickly redact it, using automated face and object detection
• Bridge the understaffing gap
• Prepare for next-level AI

Video Coming Soon
The challenges of handling vast amounts of discovery—spanning documents, audio, video, and images—can be overwhelming. This presentation will showcase how TrialKit leverages AI to streamline discovery review and case preparation.

The live demo will highlight how TrialKit’s tools simplify discovery and trial preparation, including:

• Automatically organizing discovery materials with transcription, entity extraction, and object detection.
• Enabling natural language search to locate evidence effortlessly, whether it’s buried in text, audio, video, or images.
• Helping attorneys tag key facts, build fact and witness charts, and link directly to relevant media clips for seamless trial preparation.
• Facilitating collaboration with teammates by assigning tasks and sharing insights directly within the platform.

Live demonstration with a single case from the perspective of a public defender preparing for trial using ZLS.ai.

1. Receiving the case Discovery and summarizing the police report
2. Extracting witnesses and officers from the police report to add to ZLS.app; conflict checking
3. Crafting cross-examination questions in leading format for a preliminary hearing
4. Corresponding with spanish-speaking family
5. Receiving medical records and creating a summary and identifying key data points such as diagnoses or personality disorder flags
6. Utilizing ZLS.ai chat to do legal research brainstorming
7. Crunching case notes with AI when client calls in to let him know all the work we've done
8. Receiving body worn video discovery and leveraging whisper AI and built-in tools for various insights
9. Trial prep with motion in limine brainstorming