Rapid Review of a Complex Cold Case

Ahead of a historic murder trial at the Old Bailey, The 36 Group was tasked with reviewing over 10,000 documents – ranging from handwritten witness statements and police notes to court orders and unused material. Much of the evidence dated back decades, from an initial 1994 investigation and a later cold case review. A 20-person team – made up of barristers, solicitors, forensic experts and former police officers – was under pressure to complete their review remotely during COVID-19, but their existing system (CCDCS) couldn’t support real-time collaboration or efficient search.

Reviewing 10,000+ Documents in Days

To meet the court deadline, The 36 Group deployed Luminance. The team uploaded the full dataset in minutes and gained immediate access to the documents via a secure, cloud-based platform. Luminance’s AI rapidly analysed and understood the document set, surfacing key information via intuitive 3D visualisations. The legal team could instantly spot patterns, trends, or anomalies in the evidence – whether identifying relevant documents for disclosure or investigating specific individuals. As lawyers engaged with the documents, Luminance’s AI adapted to their review patterns – surfacing related material without requiring manual tagging or metadata.

AI That Surfaces Hidden Evidence

Manually searching through police files often meant reviewing documents with unhelpful or cryptic filenames. With Luminance, the team could search conceptually – not just by keyword.

A search for ‘black shoes’ (a key piece of physical evidence) surfaced all references, allowing the team to confirm continuity across multiple testimonies. Searching for “mother” also returned conceptually similar terms like “mum,” helping the barristers prepare for cross-examinations with maximum context.

Luminance’s conceptual understanding meant critical information wasn’t missed – something The 36 Group said had often happened with the CCDCS platform.

From Disclosure to Courtroom in Record Time

Thanks to Luminance, the defense team saved four working weeks and £50,000 during the review and disclosure phase. When it came time to compile cross-examination bundles, Luminance had already surfaced the right material – reducing what is usually a time-consuming task to just minutes.

AI That Works at the Speed of Justice

For high-stakes cases with tight timelines, Luminance gave The 36 Group the insight, speed, and accuracy they needed. The result was a more efficient, collaborative review process that empowered the defense team to spend less time searching and more time building their case. “It’s brilliant software. If I had a case where I needed it again, I absolutely would. In fact, it would be a real leap forward if all defense teams had access to it,” said another barrister involved in the case.