I have a trial lawyer for a nephew. He says photos are generally admitted as evidence on the basis that someone testifies that they are authentic. I don't think negatives are generally part of the evidence.
Now, if the prosecution wants to argue that the photos have ben tampered with, I think he's in for a bit of trouble. My understanding is the original images have been sent to a certified lab. It would depend a bit on how quickly the image files got to an independent custodian.
Whether the judge understands the technology is irrelevant. What matters is whether experts agree that tampering with the images is not possible in the time frame available. If there is a series of images, that will tell a story, and it will be very difficult to argue that a particular image has had its timestamp altered. I'm not even aware of any software that can alter the metadata without leaving its own signature.
I can just imagine the trail that would be left by a bunch of kids trying to locate a hacker capable of tampering with the images. How do you quickly locate a CIA level hacker without being observed?
With film though, you have the negatives to examine.
That's been my point. Film is the original document that is not easily altered. Just like an original signature on a paper document.
With digital media, where's the original? I know the courts were struggling with the issue of digital media where there is no true original. I don't know how/if that struggle has been resolved.
And in this case, the situation is even more complicated because no one is arguing that the photos do not represent various situations at the party. We're arguing about the metadata (time/date) attached to the digital photographs that is not normally part of the actual image. We've only seen cropped pictures. Some digital cameras put the time and day into the picture. Time and date information stored as part of the
image would be a big plus for the defense. Nifong is clearly going to try and exclude the photos.
The thing that's interesting about the ATM photos of RS is that, while I'm sure they were also digital, they were taken by a disinterested third party with neither the motive or agenda to modify them. I'm sure banks have to use those photos all the time in court. I wonder what medium is used to store them? Note in them how the time/day information is stored as part of the photo? I don't think that's by accident.
(This issue, by the way, is what scares the hell out of me with the electronic voting machines. I don't know an single engineer who thinks they are a good idea but yet they've been sold to people as infallible.)
I would love to be proved wrong and for the photos to be admitted and believed. I just think Nifong is going to put up a big fight that he may win.
If I'm wrong, I'll happily buy the first round at
Satisfaction.