Specialists in Remote Sensing Discuss Legalities of Geospatial Data
As technology evolves for courtroom use, issues and opportunities arise. Fitting that category, geospatial information and its use as court evidence was the subject of a daylong session this spring at the Law School.
Hosted by the National Remote Sensing and Space Law Center, "The Legal Applications of Geospatial Data and Information" involved discussions by industry leaders as they probed the legal applications of geospatial information. The keynote address, "Technology in the Courtroom," was presented by Mississippi Supreme Court Justice James E. Graves Jr.
Offering CLE credit and organized by Joanne Gabrynowicz, director of NRSSLC, the program showcased how geospatial data and information is being used in a variety of different bodies of law, including aviation, property, evidence, environmental, and even international boundary disputes.
Speakers included Gabrynowicz, who focused on interdisciplinary inquiry into legal applications of geospatial data; EPA representatives John G. Lyon and George M. Brilis on environmental legal applications; NASA Langley Research Center Head Greg Stover and NRSSLC Associate Director Jacqueline Serrao on aviation legal applications; NASA Stennis Space Flight Center's Earth Science Applications Director David Powe on earth science applications at NASA; Special Assistant Attorney General Sharon Hatch Hodge and Marine Resource Specialist Kerwin Cuevas on public and private enforcement of geospatial technologies; Rick Crowsey, of Crowsey Incorporated, on litigation support; and Mark Brender of SpaceImaging, on the court of public opinion.