Ah, wrong. It's called chain of custody. Sean Hannity already said it looks edited.
Editing is irrelevent. Chain of custody is only relevent for physical evidence. This tape isn't physical evidence. It will only be offered as "(witness), does this tape accurately depict the events that happened," to which the witness responds yes or no.
I have no doubt what you and I see on the news is edited. If it is true that an "edited" copy is the only thing that gets to the grand jury/court, then the answer to the above question will be "yes, but it doesn't show everything." To the extent that that is true, the factfinder weighs the oral testimony and gives the tape whatever value they deem. An edited tape is just as admissible as a raw one.
I respect your inclination since that was my first thought on photographic evidence when we talked about it in evidence class in law school a few years back. Being a photographer and having some idea about editing capability, I raised the scenario you are raising here. I quickly learned that it doesn't matter because it either is or isn't an accurate depiction of events. On the other hand, California may have weird rules of evidence (provided this is a state and not federal) grand jury. So, if I'm wrong on that account...
Editing is irrelevent. Chain of custody is only relevent for physical evidence. This tape isn't physical evidence. It will only be offered as "(witness), does this tape accurately depict the events that happened," to which the witness responds yes or no.
I have no doubt what you and I see on the news is edited. If it is true that an "edited" copy is the only thing that gets to the grand jury/court, then the answer to the above question will be "yes, but it doesn't show everything." To the extent that that is true, the factfinder weighs the oral testimony and gives the tape whatever value they deem. An edited tape is just as admissible as a raw one.
Well, if the tape had been edited before being shown in court or before the Grand Jury, and the witness asked "Yes or No: Does that tape accurately depict the events?" then they could answer "yes" without mentioning the editing.
I think the question would have to be phrased something like, "Does that tape depict accurately and completely the events in question?"