Collaborative Research: Evidentiary Dilemmas and Emergent Publics: How Contestations over New Geospatial Technologies are Shaping International Justice

近年来，新的地理空间技术，如地理卫星成像、无人机和地面技术系统，在司法调查和诉讼中的应用激增，不仅在政府和执法机构中，而且在非政府组织、倡导者和普通公民中。了解不同的社区如何使用和解释这些新技术，对于我们掌握和预测21世纪地方、国家和国际层面的司法是至关重要的。该项目的大部分数据将公开提供，以便为在司法程序中使用地理空间技术的法律和公共政策提供信息。通过建立记录技术在调查和司法程序中的作用的公共档案，数据传播将增进公众对科学和科学方法的了解。该项目还为研究生和本科生提供严格、科学的数据收集和分析方法方面的培训。这个多站点人种学研究项目是首批实证研究之一，旨在研究民间社会利益攸关方和法律专家如何在刑事和人权调查中使用地理空间技术。特别是，研究将侧重于诉讼当事人、民间社会利益相关者以及技术和法律专家之间形成的新的合作和争论。研究将阐明技术专家和非专业人员如何利用地理空间技术来为法律案件发现法医证据和其他证据。该项目还将探讨这些新形式的证据是否以及如何在法律机构内被允许，以及围绕包括科学家和检察官在内的不同主题群体如何解释这些技术产生的信息的相关紧张关系。该研究项目将使用几种定性方法生成丰富的数据集，包括对多个群体代表的120次访谈、技术培训和法庭诉讼的参与者观察、公共媒体的档案分析和卫星图像的视觉分析。这项研究的结果将通过探索新技术如何影响证据程序以及不同利益相关者参与司法程序的方式，为法律人类学和社会法学研究做出贡献。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The use of new geospatial technologies, such as geo-satellite imaging, drones, and ground technology systems, in judicial investigations and proceedings has proliferated in recent years, not only among governmental and law enforcement bodies, but also by nongovernmental organizations, advocates, and ordinary citizens. Understanding how diverse communities are using and interpreting these new technologies is critical to our ability to grasp and forecast what justice looks like in the twenty-first century at the local, national, and international levels. Much of the project's data will be made publicly available in order to inform legal and public policies regarding the use of geospatial technologies in judicial proceedings. Data dissemination will enhance the public's understanding of science and the scientific method through the construction of a public archive that documents the role of technology in investigations and justice proceedings. The project also provides training for graduate and undergraduate students in methods of rigorous, scientific data collection and analysis.This multi-sited ethnographic research project is among the first empirical studies to examine how geospatial technologies are used by civil society stakeholders and legal experts in criminal and human rights investigations. In particular, research will focus on the new collaborations and contestations forming among litigants, civil society stakeholders, and technical and legal experts. Research will illuminate how geospatial technologies are being deployed by technical experts and laypersons alike in an effort to uncover forensic and other evidence for legal cases. The project will also explore whether and how these new forms of evidence are permitted within legal institutions, as well as the related tensions surrounding how different subject groups, including scientists and prosecutors, interpret the information generated by these technologies. The research project will use several qualitative methods to generate a rich data-set, including coding from 120 interviews with representatives of multiple groups, participant observation of technology trainings and court proceedings, archival analysis of public media, and visual analysis of satellite imagery. Results from this research will contribute to legal anthropology and sociolegal studies by exploring how new technologies are influencing evidentiary procedure and the ways within which different stakeholders participate in the judicial process.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.