Episode 213 | Just Multidisciplinary Teams Enhancing Conviction Integrity
Original Release Date: July 8, 2022
In episode one of our Enhancing Conviction Integrity through Forensics mini-season, Just Science sat down with Patricia Powers, an Attorney Advisor with AEquitas to discuss the concept of Conviction Integrity and how practitioners can utilize a multidisciplinary team around them.
Attorneys, law enforcement agents, advocates, medical professionals, and crime laboratory staff all play crucial roles as a case navigates from the crime scene to the courtroom. Allied professionals lean on one another to ensure all perspectives are heard and have the best interest of a victim or family in mind. Listen along as Patricia Powers dives deep into the relationships of these allied professionals and how having a formalized case review process can assist in maintaining the integrity of a conviction.
This project was supported by Grant No. 2019-MU-BX-K011 awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. The Bureau of Justice Assistance is a component of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Office for Victims of Crime, and the SMART Office. Points of view or opinions in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
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Guest Biography
Patricia “Patti” Powers joined AEquitas after serving as a Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in Washington State for 27 years bringing extensive litigation expertise as a well-respected trial attorney. She supervised the Sexual Assault—Domestic Violence Unit and prosecuted and tried a high volume of violent crimes—specializing in adult sexual assault, child sexual assault and abuse, sexual exploitation of minors, domestic violence, and related homicides (including complex litigation of high-profile, as well as cold and current cases). Patti served on the domestic violence and child fatality review committees and was a member of the Washington State Technical Assistance Committee for Child Death Review Guidelines. For five years, she was appointed as a Highly Qualified Expert for the United States Army, Criminal Investigation Division; in this role, she provided training for army criminal investigation agents and prosecutors at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, and in Germany. Patti is the lead Attorney Advisor on the SAKI project.
