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Real Life Examples of Digital Evidence in Action
State of Florida v. Reyes
(2002)
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Facts of the Case: ​The defense team within this case submitted a motion regarding digitally enhanced fingerprints that were being used by the prosecutor against Mr. John Reyes. Within the decision of whether to label this evidence as admissible or inadmissible three experts were asked to testify to help demonstrate the use of new digital imaging technology. The major violation in which Reyes party believed was being violated was the Frye standard. The Frye standard is the "general acceptance test is a test to determine the admissibility of scientific evidence."
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Issue: ​Does digital enhancement fingerprint analysis meet the Frye standard?
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Ruling: The court ruled that the expert evidence was enough to justify that there was not a need for a Frye hearing. This allowed for the prosecution to push forward with the conviction of John Reyes.
In each of the cases below the main conviction of the defendant was based upon the use of digital evidence. Although it may have not been the underlying factor in all cases the growing use and reliability of digital evidence is apparent.
The judge ruled that this was able to be used in this case. The experts analysis of these images was not the main factor and determining the fault of this man. The Court expressed no concern with the admissibility of the forensic digital analysis of the photographs. © Copyright 2012 www.rcgov.org
When the murder took place. The defendant, Paxton shot the passenger of the car five times in the side. When he then wouldn't get out the car he shot him once more in the back and both the defendant and accomplice dragged him into a ditch. © Copyright 2012 us.123rf.com
The judge ruled that this was able to be used in this case. The experts analysis of these images was not the main factor and determining the fault of this man. The Court expressed no concern with the admissibility of the forensic digital analysis of the photographs. © Copyright 2012 www.rcgov.org
This image was taken after the initial arrest of John Reyes. His charges included vehicle burglary and possession of drugs. © Copyright 2012 www.osceola.org
The issue of digital evidence was the main issue surround the State of Florida v. Reyes case. He thought as though a violation of the Frye rules had occurred during the enhancement of his fingerprints. © Copyright 2012 danelovell.files.wordpress.com
This image was taken after the initial arrest of John Reyes. His charges included vehicle burglary and possession of drugs. © Copyright 2012 www.osceola.org
The charges brought against Dwight Newman shortly after his arrest was related to his theft of $473 worth of baseball cards. © Copyright 2012 montanawriter.com
At this location the original crime took place. The cashier who was working at the time played a big role in the conviction of Newman. © Copyright 2012 www.tomt.com
The charges brought against Dwight Newman shortly after his arrest was related to his theft of $473 worth of baseball cards. © Copyright 2012 montanawriter.com
State of Arizona v. Paxton
(1996)
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Facts of the Case: Paxton was convicted on charges of first degree murder however, he was going through the appeal process with his case. The murder took place in the back seat of the car in which the defendant and accomplice were driving. After shooting the other individual five times both men proceeded to drag the body out of the car and into a ditch. A major piece of evidence in the case was a driver's seat cover of which was covered in blood. An expert was called in to professional analyze the images that were taken of the victims car. His testimony led jurors to infer that this seat was not in the car prior to the murder of this individual.
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Issue: Was the evidence presented by Mark Little irrelevant because it was based on photographs taken too remote in time from the murder?
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Ruling: This conviction was upheld after the evidence found by the expert in the case was seen to be admissible within the context of the case.
State of Minnesota v. Newman (1994)
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Facts of the Case: The trial originally began due to the theft by Harmony Newman of $473 worth of baseball cards from a local convenience store. When evidence was being presented at trial, the testimony of the cashier of the store was seen as the most valuable evidence. This evidence included the eye-witness story of this cashier and video surveillance of two men leaving the store with the baseball cards that were stolen, The video surveillance was used by expert to explain the digitally enhanced videos which led to his conviction in this case.
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Issue: Did the trial err in denying the motion for a new trial?
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Ruling: According to the judge the ruling of this case was based off the testimony of the cashier that was present in the store at the time of the robbery. They ruled out that the digitally enhanced video surveillance screenshots were not the key to the conviction of Newman.
Here are some additional examples of cases where digital evidence has played a factor in the proceedings. As you can see from the cases above, digital evidence proves to be very controversial in the court room. With the continuation of allowances of this type of evidence in the court, hopefully it will help to put an end to many more trials in more timely manner.
Additional Cases