Public defenders are among the most overworked and under-resourced players in the courtroom; however, as video and digital evidence play an increasing role in criminal cases, one startup is using AI to level the playing field
As video and digital evidence play a growing role in criminal cases, one justice tech startup is reimagining how public defenders review and analyze audiovisual discovery, allowing lawyers to save time and increase accuracy. JusticeText, co-founded by Devshi Mehrotra and Leslie Jones-Dove, provides AI-driven technology to assess body-worn camera footage, interrogation videos, jail calls, and other materials, which has allowed users to free up nearly 50% of their time to focus on other essential aspects of the case.
Bridging the gap in criminal defense
The inspiration for JusticeText evolved from the founders’ time as students at the University of Chicago. In 2015, the release of dashcam footage capturing the police killing of Laquan McDonald galvanized the Chicago community. “That moment — and the sustained community organizing that followed — had a profound impact on us,” says Mehrotra. “Chicago has an incredible history of civic activism, and we were deeply influenced by the local movements pushing for police accountability. By our senior year, we felt strongly about contributing to this work by building technology that could meaningfully support the attorneys on the front lines of that fight.”
She and Dove-Jones, both engineering students, had always been passionate about applying technical skills to drive social impact. As they learned more about the lack of advanced technology behind bodycam footage, they were inspired to try to level the playing field in the criminal justice system, starting with public defenders — often the most overworked and under-resourced players in the courtroom.
“Before JusticeText, reviewing body-worn camera footage and other audiovisual evidence was entirely manual,” Mehrotra explains. “Public defenders often received discovery in inconsistent formats — via USB drives, cloud links, or email — and had to navigate incompatible file formats and proprietary video players. Once they gained access, the review process involved watching hours of footage in real time, taking handwritten notes, and trying to manually isolate key moments.”
We want to build the most advanced and user-friendly technology available for indigent defense, while also contributing to broader advocacy efforts around funding and structural reform.
JusticeText has transformed that review experience entirely. Attorneys can now upload or sync their files to their system and receive full transcripts, AI-generated summaries, and automated flags for key legal events such as Miranda warnings or sobriety tests. Attorneys also can perform keyword searches through the documents, generate clips, add notes, and collaborate through a centralized platform. One notable feature is Miranda AI, a legal-specific assistant that helps attorneys build timelines, surface inconsistencies, and extract facts aligned with their defense strategy.
Built with — and for — public defenders
In order to maximize its effectiveness, the JusticeText product team took a user-centered approach to design and development. They co-developed the earliest prototypes with attorneys in Chicago; now, however, as more than 70 public defense agencies and more than 300 private law firms use the platform, product updates are guided by feedback loops, listening sessions, and direct input from users across the country.
The approach is paying off with real-world impact. In Florida, for example, “a public defender used JusticeText to isolate key video moments that were never introduced by the state. By presenting this footage at trial, they were able to reduce a second-degree murder charge to manslaughter with a weapon,” says Mehrotra. “In California, a public defender used Miranda AI to surface instances of racial bias in a case flagged under the Racial Justice Act. The system identified several key moments, including a quote where the officer told the defendant, ‘This is America, you need to speak English’ — that analysis directly supported the client’s right to a fair and equitable hearing.”
In another example, an investigator in Nevada used JusticeText to review 21 body-worn camera videos — nearly 19 hours of content — in just two hours. The technology flagged issues related to the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and 14th Amendments, and organized the findings into a summary that saved approximately 17 hours of investigative work. In another case, this one involving 157 court videos, JusticeText reduced an estimated 140 hours of review to just 12 hours. In a system already overburdened and underserved, this time-saving technology is proving to be game-changing.
A vision for fairer justice
Looking ahead, the JusticeText team has bold ambitions: to partner with every public defender office in the country. In an era in which defense attorneys and law firms increasingly rely on advanced technology, Mehrotra says she believes it’s essential to bring modern tools to the defense side of the courtroom.
“We want to build the most advanced and user-friendly technology available for indigent defense, while also contributing to broader advocacy efforts around funding and structural reform,” she explains. “We believe that by closing the gap, we can help restore balance and fairness to the courtroom and improve outcomes for the communities most impacted by the justice system.”
Although public defenders are responsible for protecting the rights of individuals who can’t afford external legal representation, they are asked to do so with limited time, funding, and support. By streamlining evidence review and surfacing key information more effectively, the JusticeText team believes that technology can help attorneys make stronger arguments, avoid wrongful convictions, and deliver the kind of high-quality defense to which every person is entitled.
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