Why You Need a 2nd Opinion on Digital Evidence in Criminal Cases
Why would defense counsel in a criminal case hire their own forensic examiners to review evidence that’s already been examined by an accredited lab?
Here are the 3 most common scenarios we’ve seen in working with criminal defense attorneys.
1. Help me understand what this forensic evidence actually means?
The output of a digital forensic analysis is a formal report of findings, and sometimes those reports are not exactly written in layman’s terms. One of the most common services we provide to criminal defense attorneys is to help translate the digital evidence they received from the DA into plain English. As an accredited digital crime lab that supports both attorneys and law enforcement, we can ensure that defense counsel understands any digital evidence, especially any unique technical aspects of the findings report.
2. Could this digital evidence support an alternate version of events that my client claims?
The goal of any forensic analysis is to reconstruct a sequence of past events, and in some cases two different events can leave a very similar digital trail. We’re often asked by defense attorneys whether the digital evidence presented could support an alternative version of events. In some cases, we can answer this question by simply reviewing the existing evidence. In other cases, we may need to actually perform our own analysis of the evidence to validate the findings and uncover additional information that could support an alternate scenario.
3. I want to dispute the evidence presented by the DA and want a lab I can trust to perform a new analysis.
When cases are expected to go to trial, we’re often asked to perform a detailed review of the chain of custody, forensic procedures and findings of the digital evidence in the case. Our digital crime lab is accredited under the same program as state labs and the FBI, so we have the credentials and experience to perform a comprehensive analysis of any digital evidence and either confirm the findings or identify any potential issues in how the evidence was handled or in the conclusions that were drawn.
If you need an expert second opinion on the digital evidence in a criminal case, contact Flashback Data, LLC. Our digital forensics lab is accredited under the same program as state and federal crime labs, and we’re experienced in working with attorneys in criminal cases across the country.
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