Using and Presenting Digital Evidence in the Courtroom: Mock Trial (DVD)

• NCJ Number: 215093
• Date Published: February 2008
• Length: 0 pages
• Agencies: NIJ
• Publication Type: Technical Assistance

Annotation

This two-disc DVD set of a mock trial presented in Courtroom 21 at the College of William and Mary has the primary aim of showing how digital evidence is used and presented in the courtroom.

Abstract

The opening DVD contains a section with introductions of trial participants and an overview of the purpose and content of the mock trial, followed by sections on jury instructions, a defense motion for suppression of evidence exhibits, and the testimony of two witnesses. The crimes being charged are related to an extortion attempt in which an anonymous caller to the head of a business threatened to damage the company's computer system unless he was paid a specified amount of money. The money was not paid, and the company computer system was then breached and damaged. An ex-employee of the company was arrested after an investigation and charged with extortion and damaging a computer system. The mock trial focuses on the prosecution's case-in-chief, with the aim of showing how digital evidence is used and presented. The second DVD presents the testimony of five witnesses, followed by the jury's verdict and jurors' comments.