Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
showed. Jane's. ex-husband's. attorneys. the. report. from. her.
document.expert,.they.quickly.settled.to.avoid.Jill's.promise.
to.press.charges.for.fraud.
As. these. two. cases. illustrate,. paper. documentation. cre-
ated. different. issues. that. in. some. cases. were. easier. to. deal.
with.and.in.some.cases.created.confusion..In.both.cases.the.
experts. made. all. the. difference,. and. things. could. very. well.
have. gone. the. opposite. way. had. those. experts. either. been.
unavailable.or.less.qualiied.
Though.we.have.moved.to.a.world.where.nearly.all.docu-
mentation.is.electronic,.the.issues.of.relevance,.integrity,.and.
availability. remain. as. important. as. ever.. And. they. are. now.
more.dificult.in.many.ways.than.they.were.in.the.past..There.
is. a. high. level. of. expertise. and. training. required. to. under-
stand,.analyze,.and.clearly.explain.whether.electronic.docu-
mentation.is.relevant.to.a.case,.is.what.it.purports.to.be,.has.
not.been.tampered.with,.and.can.be.counted.on.to.prove.or.
disprove. an. assertion.. In. a. later. section. on. nonrepudiation.
and.electronic.evidence.integrity.we.will.discuss.this.issue.in.
even.more.detail.
1.4 WHY AND HOW THIS AFFECTS
THE PRACTICE OF LAW
Think.about.the.very.basic.reason.there.is.something.called.
the.“practice.of.law.”.Would.you.agree.that.at.its.most.ideal.
it.is.meant.to.be.a.way.to.ind.the.truth.of.a.matter.and.serve.
justice?. OK,. if. you. have. dealt. with. lawyers. and. lawsuits. or.
other.legal.matters.you.might.be.inclined.to.think.otherwise,.
but.for.the.sake.of.the.argument.let's.agree.the.ideal.is.at.least.
that.the.purpose.of.the.law.is.to.ind.the.truth.and.mete.out.
justice.to.the.parties.involved.(Figure 1.8).
If.we.can.agree.to.put.aside.our.admittedly.justiied.skepti-
cism.and.work.with.that.ideal.deinition,.we.can.take.some.
time.to.consider.how.this.ideal.is.affected.by.the.introduction.
of.electronic.evidence.to.the.mix..OK—will.you.go.there.with.
me?.Thanks.
