Martin Baldock explains how a forensic expert cuts through electronic “fog”
Judges, counsel and board-level decision makers could be forgiven for being bewildered by experts telling them what can or cannot be done with technology. The pace of IT development is such that it is easy to be hoodwinked.
In a court of law this IT “innocence” becomes critical as those involved in cases and those hearing them risk falling victim to tactical assertions about electronic evidence.
Electronic evidence is increasingly at the heart of litigation today. This e-evidence can be gathered from desktop and laptop computers, mobile phones, BlackBerrys and even satellite navigation systems.
UK courts are beginning to experience the kind of tactical use of electronic evidence long seen in US courts with counsel arguing that information cannot be recovered or that, given the estimated value of the case being heard, it is not worth the expense involved in taking the e-disclosure process to another level.
This is where the evidence of the forensic expert witness becomes essential in cutting through obfuscation to testify to the truth of what can or cannot be
