FORENSIC FILES: Times are changing: Electronic evidence is different

Sammons, John. 2009. FORENSIC FILES: Times are changing: Electronic evidence is different. Retrived on September 17, 2009 at. http://www.wvrecord.com/news/221039-forensic-files-times-are-changing-electronic-evidence-is-different

ABSTRACT:

Technology has shrunk the world we live in. Rules are being changed to help legal systems adapt to the exploding digital society. The article discusses major differences between electronically stored information and paper evidence. The author emphasizes that these two should be treated differently when used as evidence for they will cause confusion and may mislead if their differences are not addressed properly.

MY THOUGHTS / REFLECTION:

From a traditional paper-based evidences, electronically stored information are introduced in the courtrooms. Because of this introduction, legislators are tasked to amend and/or change rules to adapt to changing environment. For example, here in the Philippines, we have A.M. NO. 01-7-01-SC.- RULES ON ELECTRONIC EVIDENCE which describes, defines and identifies accuracy and credibility of electronically stored information when presented to court as evidence.

THREE THINGS LEARNED:

> Metadata is simply "data about data." As valuable as metadata can be, it's important to note that metadata is not full-poof and can be removed all together.

> An issue in electronically stored information is its duplicability. It is easier to have multiple copies of a particular document through the digital technology. This is somehow related with issues on privacy. In this aspect, I would like to emphasize that librarians should be very careful in sending information.

> A witness presenting an electronically stored information need to prove that what he’s presenting is genuine and unedited / not modified. The question on his integrity can also be raised.

It is somehow hard to prove the authenticity of an electronic document especially if it’s being used to discuss sensitive issues or if it’s used as court evidence. In the Company I’m working for, every time an important request is made, I make sure that there are 3 signed copies of the document stored in different locations. Storing these requests electronically is not an essential part of my duties. My immediate supervisor keeps on reminding me not to damage the printed and signed requests because these are the ones which will be considered reliable and no more questions will be asked when used to defend a particular argument.