Recent Canadian Cases on Image Interpretation
Several times a year I conduct a comprehensive search of recent reported case law on topics related to video evidence, forensic video analysis, and pertinent expert witness testimony issues. This provides me with new case law that illustrates how courts are assessing and deciding relevant litigated issues on these topics. This article focuses...
Chickens Come Home to Roost When Covert Videos Alleging Animal Mistreatment are Ruled Admissible
Covert video recordings taken at the behest of an animal rights organization provide potentially valuable evidence in a prosecution alleging animal cruelty. In R. v. Elite Farm Services Ltd., 2021 BCSC 1583 (British Columbia Supreme Court), the defence challenged the admissibility of video evidence that the Crown sought to tender at trial. The purpose...
The Search for the Truth in Images Requires Competent Experts, Forensic Tools, and Counsel
The recent (November 2021) high profile American murder prosecution (State of Wisconsin v. Rittenhouse) has garnered considerable media attention, primarily because of the polarizing views on the propriety of Rittenhouse shooting people and then claiming self-defence as the justification for doing so. The purpose of this article is not to weigh in on...
Image Alteration (Forgery) Detection: An Overview of Passive Techniques
One of the most palpable concerns about digital media is whether it can be trusted. One of the topics that I am researching and writing about in my PhD is the authentication of digital media. In this article, I provide an overview of passive forgery detection techniques. I have not included academic and...
Image Alteration (Forgery) Detection: An Overview
One of the most palpable concerns about digital media is whether it can be trusted. One of the topics that I am researching and writing about in my PhD is the authentication of digital media. In this article and the article that will follow, I provide an overview of active and passive forgery...
Expert Witness or Lay Witness: Who Decides and Why?
When I teach my Courtroom Testimony for Expert Witnesses course, a topic that frequently arises is how the decision is made as to whether to present an expert as an expert witness or a lay witness at trial. The decision may have significant ramifications and the purpose of this article is to explore that topic...
Frame by Frame Analysis and the Use of Spotlighting Accepted in Murder Prosecution
In R. v. Ahmed, 2021 ONSC 2141 (Ontario Superior Court of Justice), the defendant was charged with murder arising out of a shooting in an Ottawa nightclub. He admitted shooting the deceased but claimed that he acted in self defence and lacked the necessary intent for murder. Presentation and expert analysis of the video obtained...
Court Restricts Forensic Video Analyst in Image Comparison Opinion Evidence
In Canada and the United States, courts rarely limit the ability of a qualified forensic video analyst to provide image comparison opinions. Conversely, in the United Kingdom, the Forensic Science Regulator has placed significant restrictions on the use of evaluative opinions. For more on the UK situation, refer to the article on this...
Appellate Courts Weigh in on Authentication of Digital Media in Canada
Authentication of digital media by the tendering party is a precondition for admissibility at trial. The focus of this article is on assessing what level of proof is required in order to meet this requirement and the practical implications of this standard of proof. This article addresses the law and practice in Canada....
Defence Challenges Motion Tracking by Forensic Video Analyst: Too Helpful Perhaps?
The quintessential role of the expert witness in the courtroom is assistive by design. Expert witnesses are only permitted to testify if they possess scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge that exceeds that of the lay person and only if their knowledge will assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence or...