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...
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...
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...