As a computer science student at The University of Chicago, Devshi Mehrotra knew one way she wanted to use her technical background was to help low-income communities gain equal access to the criminal justice system.
Mehrotra was concerned that public defenders may be at a disadvantage when it comes to accessing funding, resources and innovation and wanted to ensure that everyone, no matter their socioeconomic status, could get the best representation possible.
Seeking a solution, she and classmate Leslie Jones-Dove, co-founded JusticeText as part of a class project. JusticeText, which launched in 2019, is evidence management software that saves public defenders time and strengthens cases by quickly locating vital information.
“(It) generates an automated transcript of any media file you upload to the system — pulls out key words, references to crimes, references to medical conditions and makes it really easy to identify the key insights in any audiovisual discovery much faster than otherwise previously possible,” Mehrotra said.
Mehrotra said because she and Dove-Jones are both BIPOC founders, the work they’re doing is even more important to not only those using the platform but also to show other underrepresented technologists that success is possible.
“My co-founder is a Black man in this country, and his own understanding of what it means to navigate the world with his skin color is very different than even my own, or that of the majority of people who start tech companies today,” she said. “And I think for me, being an immigrant in this country and being a woman of color also gives me a set of experiences that aren’t necessarily more unique or better than anyone else’s, but they are underrepresented within the technology community.”
The startup recently partnered with the Virginia Indigent Defense Commission to support 125 public defenders, its first partnership at the statewide level.
JusticeText is working with nine city offices throughout the state including Richmond, Petersburg and Hampton.
Mehrotra and Jones-Dove recently met with attorneys, investigators and paralegals across the state to get feedback on the platform.
Public defenders like Mike Lonchar of Bedford, Virginia, found that JusticeText is effective in expediting the pre-trial preparation experience.
“We’re primarily using it for body cameras and interviews to get those transcripts,” he said. “We found it's really helpful by using the generated transcript rather than having to take personal notes and writing down exactly the time, the minute and second where things happen.”
Joseph Schenk, a public defender in Danville, said the platform’s convenience is also an attractive feature.
“Sometimes lawyers like to work at home … It’s the convenience of being able to work on preparing the transcript without having to take everything from my office, home with me,” he said. “It’s all web-based, and that’s been fantastic.”
The JusticeText team is now working to scale the platform. Mehrotra said much of her focus is connecting with public defense agencies across the nation. She recently attended a conference organized by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
“That was a great opportunity to finally meet in person with a lot of the people that we’re hoping to work together with,” she said. “The goal that we set for ourselves is to be able to work with 50 public defense agencies over the next year.”