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.
I was in a Walmart the other day, and ran into a friend that works for the local Sheriffs Dept. She had a bag of film that she claimed was evidence photos.
She was giving the film to Walmart for developement. I thought it seemed strange that such evidence was handled so non-chalantly.
Time and date information stored as part of the image would be a big plus for the defense. Metadata is part of the image. Fiddling with it is way beyond the capabilities of ordinary mortals. There is no commercial program that would do it. It is possible that the timestamps are also in the camera. Not to mention, the images may have been emailed early on, providing another trail. If the images were emailed within the first couple of days, there is no chance that they could be altered without leaving a trace.