​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​the Courtroom
How is Digital Evidence used?
For over 60 years, computers have existed however, for only about the last 30 years computers have played a significant role in not only the everyday life of individuals but also in the actions within the courtroom.
​
According to the United States Department of Justice, digital evidence has most recently been used to 'solve crimes and prosecute offenders." Certain processes must be followed in order to make the use of this evidence possible.
What is Digital Evidence?
​
According to Pavel Gladyshevl, the author of "Formalizing Event Reconstruction in Digital Investigations," digital evidence is defined as "any information of probative value that is either stored or transmitted in digital form." This can include "e-mails, digital photographs, ATM transaction logs, word processing documents, instant message histories, files saved from accounting programs, spreadsheets, internet browser histories, databases, the contents of computer memory, computer backups, computer printouts, GPS tracks, logs from a hotel’s electronic door locks, and digital video or audio files."
​
Digital evidences falls into many different areas that are dependent upon what it is being used to prove.
Types of Digital Evidence
Digital Evidence in the News
Thursday, February 23, 2012
In the City of Charlottesville, Virginia a crime took place that nobody would have ever expected. At the University of Virginia, two college students, Love and Huguely, had been dating for some time and unexpectedly Yeardley Love was found dead in her apartment in May of 2010. As means of evidence for the prosecution in this case, digital evidence on Love's computer was used to convict Huguely.
Friday, March 16, 2012
After being accused of fraud, defendant Ramona Fricosu was asked by the team of prosecutors for the State of Colorado to encrypt her laptop so evidence found could be used against her. Miss Frucosu claims that this was a violation of her Fifth Amendment right; however, due to the basis of her crime her attempts to claim this violation have to this point been unsuccessful.
Monday, January 23, 2012
In this particular case, a college student who was attending Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey is being tried for using a form of technology to commit crime. As a result of Dharun Ravi's actions, his former roommate Tyler Clementi committed suicide in September of 2010. Ravi is now being charged with bias intimidation as a hate crime and also with tampering with evidence.