World Forest ID has been working with the counsel of Searby Law since 2023 to identify opportunities to use scientific and AI-inferred data as evidence of origin misdeclaration and illicit movement of forest products in strategic litigation cases, with specific focus on Ukraine and Latin America.
Searby’s Focus
Searby Law’s strategic litigation services are committed to combating environmental crimes, rights violations, fraud, and corruption across various jurisdictions. Recognizing that in many countries, the rule of law struggles to effectively address environmental crimes and rights violations, Searby Law collaborates with Non-Governmental Organizations to ensure that legal repercussions for wrongdoers include penalties that are proportionate to harms and sufficient to be dissuasive. The practice is particularly keen to support communities facing significant challenges in holding perpetrators accountable under both environmental and non-environmental laws at the local and national level. Noting that the lack of effective accountability frameworks is frequently linked to corruption, bribery, money laundering, and fraud, the Strategic Litigation team leverages deep expertise in white-collar criminal prosecutions and innovative modern data and legal strategies.
Presenting Spatial / Scientific Evidence in Legal Proceedings
The working partnership takes a broad perspective on the legal process, recognizing that scientific evidence is useful not only to prosecutors in court but also for targeting in investigations, for example by supporting applications for search warrants necessary to uncover documentary evidence of intent.
Acting as a bridge between legal and scientific communities concerned with illicit logging and trade, World Forest ID and Searby Law develop templates for the presentation of scientific evidence in legal proceedings, focusing on transparency and clarity in both referencing data and comparison/evaluation. Demonstrating that the origin of products in forest-connected supply chains has been misdeclared at customs or under supply chain regulations is not only an end in itself—triggering prosecution under laws such as the Lacey Act—but can also unlock other legal mechanisms, such as Anti-Money Laundering laws, which have the potential to result in more effective deterrents through higher penalties and resulting compliance from financial institutions and corporate actors.
Consideration of AI-Inferred Data in Investigative and Judicial Processes
The use of various types of AI-derived data and “knowledge” in evidence is a new frontier in U.S. legal proceedings and remains a dynamic field of practice in many jurisdictions. While the Federal Rules of Evidence do not specifically address AI, they set standards for relevance, authentication, and reliability that any form of evidence must meet. The Daubert factors, which are particularly important for scientific expert testimony, require evidence to be based on scientifically valid reasoning and methodology.
At World Forest ID, understanding the legal landscape surrounding the admissibility of AI-based evidence in U.S. courts is crucial for our mission. Searby Law provides comprehensive analysis tailored specifically to our current technology to ensure that our methods and findings are legally sound.
By combining Searby Law’s legal expertise with World Forest ID’s scientific data, the partnership aims to strengthen cases against environmental crimes, ensuring greater accountability in forest-connected supply chains and ultimately protecting land from illicit deforestation and degradation.
