screenshots | Deadly Clear

By Sydney Sullivan

“If the text doesn’t fit you must acquit.“

If this case has taught us anything – its that the Rules of Evidence lag well behind digital technology and forensics creating a need for the current state and federal legislation to be updated concerning the inspection, interpretation and collection of, digital evidence along with digital devices – and proactive digital evidence and forensics

educational programs for local and state government employees need to be instituted and/or significantly updated.

In the Doc Bekkum case, iPhone text messages were used to support the complainant’s narrative. She had no witness of her own to support her allegations. The only known witness was Dr. Bekkum’s daughter who completely disputed the complainant’s testimony in a declaration, but it was after the trial. Being able to decipher real from fabricated screenshot digital text messaging is paramount in this case. From the collection to the Exhibit – the pathway must be squeaky clean.

Even the 2017 Authenticating Digital Evidence by Daniel Capra of Fordham University School of Law is now, only 6 years later, somewhat outdated as technology rapidly advances. The white paper notes:

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Fake Texts Are Easy To Create, Difficult To Detect

For lawyers, judges, juries, and investigators, discerning what’s real when dealing with digital evidence is more difficult than ever. This is due, in part, to how easy it is to create fake evidence. Specifically, a rise in fake text message apps makes it almost effortless to falsify all types of instant mobile communications – iMessage, SMS, MMS, and chat. Nearly every aspect of the text message can be fabricated, including the sender and recipient, time stamp, and delivery status.

iDiscovery Solutions (iDS) was founded in 2008, and is a professional services consulting firm that specializes in Digital Forensics, e-Discovery, Structured Data, Cybersecurity, Data Privacy, and Information Governance. Of the many services iDS provides is the ability to examine, dissect and provide legal testimony as to the validity of digital evidence produced in court proceedings.

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