Case Study: Social Media Video Ruled Inadmissible
Social media sites have provided both benefits and challenges to investigators, counsel, and the court. The benefits they can provide are manifold. The amount of communication that is conducted through social media platforms is staggering, largely relegating voice communication via telephone a place in the history books. Many people who use social media...
The Silent Witness Theory for the Admission of CCTV Video Evidence is Alive and Well: Case Examples Presented
Video evidence does not gain admission simply because counsel tenders it for entry at trial. It must be supportable under either the illustrative evidence theory or the silent witness theory. Both theories are long-standing common law tests used to regulate the admission of video evidence in the courtroom. Under the illustrative evidence theory,...
Image Comparison Evidence in the UK: Have Things Changed?
I research, write, and lecture about international imagery law. In preparation for upcoming courses in the UK this summer, I was reviewing recent case law and came across a March 2022 case from the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) that piqued my interest. It is consistent with previous case law but appears to...
Image Annotations and the Courtroom
When is it permissible to include annotations on images presented as evidence in court? Are there limits to the types of annotations that are permitted? How can you make a strong case for admission? This article discusses these questions and charts a strategy for obtaining favorable rulings on this topic. While some images...
Case Study: Homeowner Authenticates Burglary Video Recordings
A recent appellate decision from Maryland provides a helpful example of how homeowners (and by extension business owners) can be utilized to authenticate video recordings and illustrates who is permitted to express an opinion on the identification of someone shown in the recordings. In Frayne v. State of Maryland, 2021 WL 5358880 (Court of...
Recent Canadian Cases on Image Authentication
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 brief article...
Recent American 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...
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...