Andrew Cosgrave

“It’s not that people are liars, it’s because human memory is extremely fragile - especially if someone has gone through a traumatic experience. ” — Andrew Cosgrave

What is it like to be a prosecutor in the criminal justice system? I speak with Andrew Cosgrave, a former Crown attorney about his time working in criminal law. We delve into the responsibilities given to him early on in his career. Andrew ran provincial offences court as a student in the office and sat in on murder trials. I asked him what is was like to see people regularly at their worst and his beliefs on how the criminal justice functions. 

We delve into the sentencing of Eric Loomis in Wisconsin, where a judge took into account a predictive algorithm in his decision. The predictive algorithm score showed Loomis was a high risk of reoffending and the Court gave him a higher sentence because of it. Loomis appealed the sentencing but the Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld the ruling. Now Loomis is appealing to the Supreme Court of the United States, although it is unclear whether it will be accepted. We both weigh in on the use of this algorithm and other machine learning technology in criminal law.

Andrew is currently an associate at Moodie Mair Walker LLP practicing insurance litigation. He received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Calgary in 2010 and his Juris Doctor from the University of Windsor in 2013. Andrew was called to the Ontario Bar in 2014. 

Listen at 44:37 for Andrew's advice if you are a young lawyer looking to become a prosecutor.