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...
Should Video Recordings of Monitors be Ruled Authentic?
In order to make sound, informed decisions about the content of videos tendered as evidence, it is preferable to have the original recording, or a copy that has been verified to be accurate, available for viewing and examination. Ordinarily, this is achieved by exporting the video files from the camera, DVR, server, computer...
Appellate Ruling on Authentication: Speculation of Impropriety Not Enough
Should video evidence be ruled inadmissible because an expert raises potential concerns regarding its authenticity? Mere speculation is insufficient to dislodge a prima facie showing of threshold authenticity according to the Court of Appeals of Oregon in State v. Sassarini, 300 Or.App 106 (Or.App., 2019), 452 P.3d 457. The Facts A dispute between neighboring property owners...
Yes Virginia – There Really are Limits to Expert Video Narration in Court
One of the contentious aspects of providing expert video-related evidence in court is the extent to which the expert can provide narrative testimony about what is shown in the video. Judges are required to act as gatekeepers and ensure that only properly admissible evidence is presented. In doing so, judges are required to...
An Expert for All Seasons? A Study in Expert Overreach
In January 2020, James Wells was sentenced to life imprisonment for the April 2012 murders of two U.S. Coast Guard employees, who were co-workers of Wells on Kodiak Island, Alaska. He was originally convicted in 2014 and his convictions were reversed by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in December 2017. Following a...
California Court of Appeal Rules Upon the Propriety of Forensic Video Analysis Techniques Utilized by Expert
The California Court of Appeal recently had occasion to review certain forensic video analysis techniques employed by a forensic expert for the purpose of determining whether they were properly admitted at trial and additionally whether they constituted novel science, thus requiring a Kelly-Frye hearing. In People v. Tran, 2020 WL 3056213, the state presented evidence from...
Federal Court Rejects Evidence of Forensic Video Analyst as Opinion “Largely Based on Conjecture and Speculation”
In Melton v. Klee, 2019 WL 1315723, the United States District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division, considered a pro se petition for a writ of habeas corpus following the petitioner’s conviction for assault with intent to rob while armed. The petitioner’s conviction arose from the attempted robbery of the victim outside her home in Michigan. During the...
Recommendations for Expert Image Comparison Evidence in the United Kingdom in Light of the FSR Regulatory Notice “Image Enhancement and Image Comparison: Provision of Opinion”
Introduction I attended the meeting of the Forensic Digital Media Analysis Working Group, organized and presented by the Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences, in Birmingham, UK on October 21, 2019. One of the topics discussed was the state of general image comparison evidence in the UK in light of the FSR’s Regulatory Notice 01/2019...