Digital Evidence Education in Schools of Law

Authors

Aaron Alva, University of WashingtonFollow
Barbara Endicott-Popovsky, University of WashingtonFollow

Prior Publisher

The Association of Digital Forensics, Security and Law (ADFSL)

Abstract

An examination of State of Connecticut v. Julie Amero provides insight into how a general lack of understanding of digital evidence can cause an innocent defendant to be wrongfully convicted. By contrast, the 101-page opinion in Lorraine v. Markel American Insurance Co. provides legal precedence and a detailed consideration for the admission of digital evidence. An analysis of both cases leads the authors to recommend additions to Law School curricula designed to raise the awareness of the legal community to ensure such travesties of justice, as in the Amero case, don’t occur in the future. Work underway at the University of Washington designed to address this deficiency is discussed.

References

Connecticut General Statute Section 53-21(a)(1)

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Fed. R. Evid. 104, 401-402, 801-807, 901-902, 1001-1008

Frye v. United States. 293 F. 1013 D.C. Cir. (1923).

Kantor, Andrew (2007), ‘Police, school get failing grade in sad case of Julie Amero’, USA Today http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/andrewkantor/2007-02-22-julieamaro_x.htm, February 25, 2007.

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Lorraine v. Markel American Insurance Company, 241 F.R.D. 534 D.Md (2007).

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State of Connecticut v. Christian E. Porter, 241 Conn. 57, 698 A.2d 739, (1997).

State of Connecticut v. Julie Amero Trial Testimony, (2007), Retrieved from http://drumsnwhistles.com/pdf/amero-text.zip, January 3-5, 2007.

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Recommended Citation

Alva, Aaron and Endicott-Popovsky, Barbara (2012) "Digital Evidence Education in Schools of Law," Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law: Vol. 7 , Article 5.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15394/jdfsl.2012.1120
Available at: https://commons.erau.edu/jdfsl/vol7/iss2/5