Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
1.2.4 Other Federal Rules That
Affect Electronic Data
There.are.three.other.federal.rules.that.affect.the.way.federal.
jurisdictions. treat. electronic. evidence.. They. are. beyond. the.
scope.of.this.topic,.but.I.wanted.to.at.least.reference.them.
here.so.that.you.would.be.aware.of.them:
•. Electronic.Communications.Privacy.Act.or.ECPA.(1986)
*
•. Stored.Communications.Act.(1986)—part.of.ECPA
•. Daubert.ruling—a.case.that.speciically.discusses.the.
criteria.for.expert.witnesses
1.3 THE PROBLEMS WITH ESI AS
DISCOVERABLE EVIDENCE
When.we.need.to.use.ESI.in.a.court.of.law,.or.if.we.just.need.
to.understand.how.to.ind.it.and.deal.with.it.for.whatever.rea-
son,.we.have.to.think.about.how.it.is.different.from.any.other.
type.of.data.or.information.
In.the.old.days.if.you.wrote.a.contract.with.someone,.or.
made. some. other. kind. of. agreement,. you. would. probably.
write.it.up.on.paper.and.after.agreeing.to.everything,.every-
one.would.get.copies.and.everyone.would.sign.the.copies.in.
ink.as.proof.of.your.agreement.and.intention,.as.well.as.prov-
ing.the.integrity.of.the.documents..To.maintain.that.integrity.
those.documents.might.be.witnessed.and.notarized.by.a.third.
party.and.possibly.stored.in.a.secure.place.so.they.could.not.
be.altered.
Proving.the.integrity.of.that.type.of.evidence.was.relatively.
straightforward..As.we.discussed.in.the.last.section.when.we.
looked. at. rules. of. evidence,. in. order. for. a. court. of. law. to.
admit. evidence. for. consideration,. it. has. to. be. shown. to. be.
*.
The.New.York.Times,.1986.Privacy.Law.Is.Outrun.by.the.Web:.http://www.
nytimes.com/2011/01/10/technology/10privacy.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1..
Retrieved.2011-04-06.
