Digital Evidence Admissibility: Some Issues

Abstract

This paper addresses some issues surrounding the gathering, authentication and production of digital evidence in court proceedings. Evidence in digital form is paradigmatically different from pre-digital evidence which generally was inextricably associated with a medium be it paper, film, video, audiotape or some other fixed medium. Digital information is not dependent upon a specific medium other than a digital device to render it visible or comprehensible. In addition, digital information is possessed of a number of properties that challenge our assumptions about the authenticity and reliability of such information. This paper identifies some of the problems that arise from the use of digital information as evidence and suggests some steps that may be taken to ensure the authenticity and reliability of such evidence. In addition, the paper addresses evidence that is produced by a machine device or technical process and considers the processes that should be employed in adducing such evidence.

Keywords: Evidence, Digital Evidence, Admissibility, Machine Generated Evidence