Validating Forensic Tools, Output Images, and Other Data
Forensic video technicians and analysts utilize various hardware and software tools to acquire, interrogate, interpret, and present image-based evidence in the courtroom. When presenting their evidence in court, technicians and analysts must be able to justify their reliance upon their chosen tools and must be able to articulate why the court should have...
CCTV Video Authentication Case Study: Did the Prosecution Do Enough?
CCTV surveillance video is often relied upon by the prosecution to establish essential facts in a case. To achieve admissibility, counsel for the prosecution must lead sufficient authentication foundation evidence. If the defence takes issue with the evidence led, they can argue that the prosecution has not met its burden. This case summary...
Opposing Experts Diverge on Video Authentication: Case Study
An interesting surveillance video authentication case involving opposing experts found its way to the Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey. This article reviews the facts that were considered by the trial judge, the expert evidence presented, the authentication ruling of the trial judge, and the appellate review of that ruling....
Troubling Trend in Expert Image Comparison Evidence in Canada?
A recent Canadian case has highlighted an apparent issue that is affecting how some courts are assessing the probative value and admissibility of expert image comparison evidence. This article reviews this recent case in the context of previous rulings and recommends how image comparison evidence should be presented to the court by experts...
Best Practices for Obtaining Video Evidence from DVRs, Smartphones, and Other Devices
In an ideal world, the people who recover video evidence from devices for legal purposes would be fully conversant with how to perform this task in a forensically sound manner so that all parties and the court could benefit from the value of the images. In the real world, this approach is neither...
State Supreme Court Adopts Forensic Image Comparison Opinion: Issues Raised by the Evidence
Forensic image comparison, wherein questioned images are compared to known images to determine similarities and differences in image content, has been the subject of judicial commentary in courts in Canada, the US, and the UK for several years. Some courts have endorsed this method of analysis, while other courts have restricted it or...
Reverse Projection Photogrammetry: When is Measurement Uncertainty an Issue of Admissibility?
A home security video surveillance system captured relevant events that transpired outside the home before and after two murders were committed nearby. Of note, it recorded images of a person walking and carrying what appeared to be a shotgun. The facial features and race of the person of interest were not discernible due...
Police Record CCTV Monitor – Authentic Enough?
There are occasions when investigators are unable to export an original video recording from the DVR and therefore use a video camera to record the CCTV monitor as it plays the relevant video. This less-than-ideal solution for video capture makes forensic video analysts bristle and opposing counsel cringe. What does the law say...
Who is Qualified to Express an Opinion on Image Comparison?
A fundamental question in the forensic process of image comparison is what qualifies a proposed expert to express such an opinion for the court’s consideration. Various contenders ranging from people with no qualifications whatsoever, to wedding videographers, production video specialists, experts from the non-imaging world, and certified forensic video analysts have appeared in...
State Supreme Court Rules on Admissibility of Expert Motion Tracking Evidence
In dynamic video-recorded scenes where several people move around within the frame and from camera to camera it can be difficult to accurately track the movement of individuals. This makes it challenging for the trier of fact to understand what is happening generally and to differentiate the actions attributed to each individual. Motion...