At the intersection of forensic genetics and wrongful convictions lies an impactful field of study and practice, with the potential to prevent and detect wrongful convictions. This session will bring awareness to numerous special topics in this field to catalyze further study. Drawing on Canadian cases, the session will outline how forensic genetics, including forensic genealogy, have exposed wrongful convictions while simultaneously adding a new layer of burden for the exonerated, at times making it even more difficult to have a conviction overturned. Canadian case law and learnings from public inquiries into high profile wrongful convictions will guide participants through the role of an expert witness in forensic genetics in the Canadian criminal process, with a focus on best practices for preventing miscarriages of justice. What is important to communicate as an expert witness, what is best left unsaid, and what impact can expert testimony have on case outcomes? An emerging ethical debate that intersects with wrongful convictions will then be explored: using genetic genealogy for the purposes of innocence work. The session will highlight the ethical tension between detecting wrongful convictions using genetic genealogy and upholding rights to genetic privacy. Should genetic genealogy be used to prevent and/or detect wrongful convictions? What is the case for and against? Where has there been success in using genetic genealogy to find the actual perpetrator or exonerate the innocent? How are various jurisdictions approaching regulation, including in Canada, Europe and the United States? The session invites participants to examine how their professional practice intersects with wrongful convictions, with the goal of serving justice rather than undermining it.

Author

• Bhavan Sodhi (Innocence Canada, Canada)