In a world that has become increasingly digital and mobile, moving towards digital exchange and interaction in all ramifications, the reality poses both challenges and opportunities for the bench and the bar as they engage with discovery and evidentiary issues posed by electronically-stored data in our courts.
What can lawyers and judges do to take advantage of the potential knowledge inherent in digital data to streamline the pre-trial and trial processes? What guidance can judges give to the bar in formulating rules and protocols for the exchange and handling of electronic evidence? What gaps exist in the current legal education curriculum and what changes need to be made so that law students are fully equipped to succeed in an ever-evolving digital work environment?
This book delves into these questions and provides a starting point for further consideration of legal education, developing digital curriculum and leveraging technology to increase access to law in the developing world.
It is intended to bring the tripod of justice (the lawyers, the bench and the prosecuting agencies) up to speed on the sweeping changes in law and technology. It provides up-to-date practical information that would impact on the lawyers’ efficiency to effectively represent clients in a world meshed in digital technology, eDiscovery processes and the basic understanding of forensic expert evidence.
I have tried to keep the commentary broad and inclusive, to bring into focus the key practices to keep in mind when considering the use of digital evidence and eDiscovery fundamentals in our courts.
It is against this background and to achieve the understanding of the technical issues in the convergence of law and science that this book is divided into five parts, namely: Part A, Digital Evidence; Part B, eDiscovery Law Practice; Part C, Digital Forensic Investigation, Prosecution and Defence; Part D, Forensic Evidence and Expert Witness, and Part E, Precedents and Landmark Cases from Foreign Jurisdictions in Digital Evidence; eDiscovery; Digital Forensic Investigation and Forensic Expert Evidence.
Part A: Digital Evidence
This Part is divided into 18 chapters. Chapter 1 begins with an overview of the law of evidence in pre-digital age. It examines the old fashion conversation of the law of evidence in legal proceedings; the concept of document as originally conceived from the common law perspective. It advanced the notion that the pre-digital Evidence Act and its legal frameworks were devised in an analog age when cross-border communication was rare and online communication and social media were unheard of and where legal framework simply did not contemplate a world in which electronic data transfer, whether international or local, are commonplace.
When we talk about electronic evidence or digital evidence, we are concerned with the appendage or the incorporation of the word “electronic” or “digital”. Chapter 2 begins our journey into the world of digits and its versed terrain of essential evidentiary tools of the digital age; the evolution of computer, transistors and integrated circuits (IC) and the 2-digit systems that chronicle the new frontiers of evidence.
Having dealt with what defines the digital character of evidence, Chapter 3 sets out the processes for the understanding of the computer system components and their evidentiary values. Computer components are aids that enable the functionality of entire life circle of computing activities. They are characterised by hardware, software and other devices. These components express their values and functionalities in input of data into the computer, process of the input data, storage of the input data and delivery of information by the computing activities.
It follows from the foregoing that all digitised data or information processed and stored by the computer definitely constitute evidence. It, therefore, goes without saying that as existing technology matures, and new technologies emerge, litigators would be faced with ever-expanding list of media as potential sources on which relevant electronic evidence may reside. Chapter 4 explores the various sources of digital evidence with specific reference to their evidentiary value. Such sources include but not limited to mobile phones, digital cameras and photocopiers. Others are hard drives, memory cards, flash drives, satellite navigation devices, keyloggers, wearables, the Cloud, etc.
After the exploration of the various sources of digital evidence, it is time to consider the admissibility foundation upon which digital evidence is predicated. Chapter 5 takes us through the various stages such as authentication, relevance, hearsay, unfair prejudice, original and copy, chain of custody/audit trail and weight of evidence.
Having laid the necessary and specific foundation for the admissibility consideration when handling digital evidence in court, it becomes expedient to provide and consider the processes that require the application of the enumerated admissibility foundation. These processes run from Chapter 6 to Chapter 16 and are herein summarised.
Given what constitute document in the digital hemisphere and the inherent problem in its nature, Chapter 6 specifically examines electronic document and its admissibility.
One of the key implications of the growing availability of digitally-captured and stored images (whether of documents or pictures) is that the erstwhile reliance on paper and photographic originals (or authenticated copies of these originals) is no longer always going to be feasible for use in court. Against this background, Chapter 7 engages digital images (such as photographs and videos) as evidence.
Mobile phones are highly mobile communications devices that perform an array of functions ranging from simple digital organiser to a low-end personal computer. Designed for mobility, they are compact in size, battery powered and lightweight. Complementary data released by Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC) back in 2015 showed that the number of Nigerians accessing the Internet using their mobile phones had hit 80.3 million. Cellular phones have become the virtual biographer of our daily activities, tracking who we talk to and where we are. Although compact, these handheld devices can contain personal information including call history, text messages, emails, digital photographs, videos, calendar items, memos, address books, passwords, and credit card numbers. It has in recent times become an indispensable piece of evidence in a criminal investigation. Chapter 8 is, therefore, devoted to the analyses of cell phone data as digital evidence.
Chapter 9 examines social networks and their digital evidence content. Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter constitute the second (after cell phones) important driver of the new communication norm. These sites form the indispensable infrastructure for mass electronic communication, providing easy access to large audiences of electronic “friends” or “followers” through home computers and mobile devices. The myriad and continually changing ways to share information via social media has resulted in a digital goldmine of potential evidence in legal proceedings and, therefore, worthy of consideration.
Chapter 10 takes on satellite imagery as legal evidence. Although more than 30 years have passed since the first release of satellite data for non-military purposes, the technology remains greatly under-used in the courtroom. Fortunately, the advent of Google Earth has brought in its wake the emergence of cases with reference to auto and railroad accidents, environmental disputes, toxic torts, hurricane-related damage claims, agriculture insurance fraud and many others. These are just a few of the many examples of situations where satellite data could be useful in court.
There is no gainsaying that the Internet has played a key role in changing the business landscape in the world of today. This development saw the emergence of electronic commerce allowing businesses to more effectively interact with their customers. One industry with the complexities of the 21st century that is using this new communication channel to reach its customers in real time is the banking industry. Since banks introduced information technology to provide services to customers, the most significant problem faced by banks is where a third party intervenes by undermining the technology between the bank and the customer for the purposes of theft. When determining if either the customer or the bank is negligent, it is necessary to consider whether the customer or bank acted negligently or omitted to do something they should have done, and if so, whether the loss sustained was the natural result of the negligence of the customer or the bank, or their failure to act. Chapter 11 provides all resources necessary to explain this relationship between the bank and its customers in the digital age.
Chapter 12 elaborates on legal issues specific to forensic DNA Evidence. There is no doubt that DNA fingerprinting, one of the great discoveries of the late 20th century, has revolutionised forensic evidence. Its use in criminal investigation has grown in recent years and has become an increasingly powerful forensic tool for identifying or eliminating individuals as perpetrators of crime when biological evidence, such as saliva, tissue, blood, hair or semen is left at a crime scene.
Virtually all software applications and all functions undertaken in a computer environment and the Internet, produce log files. Log data record the “dynamics” of a system, i.e., the events that change a system’s state, including information about when an event occurs, which subject triggers it and which objects it involves. Log data allow the reconstruction of complex event chains, thereby becoming a central source of digital evidence for legal disputes. Chapter 13 discusses digital logs as electronic evidence.
Chapter 14 on Cryptography and Blockchain: Digital Evidence Authentication, examines some security measures that should be implemented beforehand to help secure and preserve the authenticity of potential evidence which include, amongst others, the implementation of data encryption to protect the potential evidence both when stored on disk and when transferred across the network and the deployment of a public key infrastructure (PKI) and digital certificates based on the most secure algorithms.
Chapter 15 engages the documentation of chain of custody for electronic/digital evidence. To authenticate evidence for admissibility, you must prove that the collection process was sound and devoid of tampering. The most effective way to do this is to maintain a documented chain of custody. This chapter is concerned with the documentation that must be maintained throughout the life of the evidence and which must be readily available for review at any time and also ensuring that every instance of contact with data must be documented throughout the entire discovery process.
From Chapter 1 to Chapter 15 of this Part, there seems to be a common agreement that, in recent time, computer and its accompaniments have become common sight in our courtrooms. Their number, use and application continue to grow. It is also not in doubt that judges, lawyers, litigants, paralegals and clerks, all have access to smartphones, computers and everything those devices can retrieve from the Internet. We cannot doubt the fact that judges, lawyers and litigants are already relying on search engines to find facts, investigate witnesses and prepare their cases before trial. You will readily agree (though arguable) that because of the vast amount of information on the Internet, facts are, more than ever before, capable of being accurately and readily determined from sources whose accuracy cannot reasonably be questioned. For these reasons, it would be safe to argue that the ease of accessing factual data now available on the Internet will allow judges and lawyers to expand the use of judicial notice in ways that raise significant concern about admissibility, reliability and fair process in our courts. It is against this background that Chapter 16, takes on the application of judicial notice in the current technological dispensation.
When evaluating digital evidence, its reliability and accuracy are of great importance to our jurisprudence both in investigation and in the probative stages of any particular case. Whether digital evidence is being used to implicate or exonerate a person, how reliably and accurately the data represent actual events can impact an individual’s liberty and life. The computer system and process that generate records for whatever use can introduce more subtle errors that are only detectable through detailed analysis. In some cases, it may arise due to system malfunction. Chapter 17 examines these possible errors or malfunctions of the system that may render the record so generated un-used by the court.
The rapid growth in the number of criminal cases involving electronic evidence has all‐too‐often found law enforcement and the judiciary ill-equipped to deal with the new issues created by this nature of evidence. In this current dispensation, there is no gain-saying that more and more information generated, communicated and stored by electronic means intend to have legal consequences that cannot be ignored. Therefore, if the legal consequences were to be properly adjudicated, the information must be capable of being put before the adjudicators. The gathering, conservation, communication and presentation of the computer‐derived evidence as illustrated in the preceding chapters must, therefore, fulfill legal requirements with regard to the admissibility of the evidence. Responding to these concerns, the Nigeria legislature in 2011, by way of amendment to the Evidence Act, introduced new provisions amongst which is section 84 to cater for the weight and admissibility of 'output' produced by a computer as evidence in both criminal and civil proceedings. Chapter 18 provides detailed evaluation of section 84 of the Evidence Act, 2011.
Part B: eDiscovery Law Practice
If you have not yet been served with discovery requests seeking electronic documents or email, the chances are you will soon be. In the likely event you are served, what are your obligations in responding to discovery seeking electronic evidence? Do you possess the technological sophistication necessary to properly advise clients on what to do with regard to preserving electronic evidence once it becomes apparent that litigation is a possibility? When is it appropriate for you to request a computer forensic investigation? What is the current case providing guidance for the costs of producing electronic evidence and what are appropriate sanctions for not producing electronic evidence or failing to prevent it from spoliation? These questions and many more are answered in this comprehensive analysis of eDiscovery law practice as espoused in Part B and divided into nine chapters.
Chapter 19 begins by examining the need for every lawyer to become familiar with this area of law. It introduces discovery as a judicial process, explains eDiscovery as legal concept, examines electronically-stored information (ESI), examines the subject of eDiscovery and the unique characteristics of ESI as distinguished from traditional paper-based files.
Chapter 20 discusses the development of eDiscovery guidelines, reference models/legal frame such as the Sedona Conference, the electronic discovery reference model (EDRM), and electronic discovery best practices (EDBP) designed for eDiscovery legal practice workflow and best practices that supplement the EDRM.
In this swiftly changing global environment, it is imperative that legal practitioners develop an ironclad international legal skill set which begins by building a greater understanding of eDiscovery in different jurisdiction. Chapter 21 addresses the legal regime in some jurisdictions that have over the years engaged eDiscovery processes in litigation and information management.
Chapter 22 gets both lawyer and client ready for eDiscovery. This takes into cognizance the early engagement of expert where expedient, client interview and building an inventory of potentially relevant ESI by way of data mapping.
Chapter 23 moves eDiscovery practice into the courtroom. With this, the duty to identify, preserve and legal hold comes under scrutiny. Here the issues are raised with regard to what triggers preservation obligation and the nature of preservation demand letter.
One of the basic principles in eDiscovery process is that parties shall confer early in the discovery regarding the preservation and production of ESI when these matters are in issue in the litigation and seek to agree on the scope of each party’s rights and responsibilities. For this purpose, Chapter 24 discusses pre-trial meeting/conference and early exchange of computer system information. In pre-trial conference, the judge may make a scheduling order, amongst other things, to limit the amendment of pleadings. The scheduling order may include: (1) modifying the extent of discovery and (2) providing for disclosure or discovery of ESI including the form or forms in which it should be produced.
When a party is served with a request for the production of documents, he is obligated by law to find all of the documents enumerated in the request and turn those documents over to the other party unless the documents qualify for an exception. Chapter 25 critically examines production of eDocument. All these involve requests, forms of production, possession, custody or control, responses and objections where necessary.
Chapter 26 deals with compelling the production of ESI: accessibility and inaccessibility of ESI and proportionality principle.
The question that often arises in litigation where eDiscovery is initiated is who pays the cost: is it the requesting party or the receiving party? The issue of who should pay the cost of production has led to many disputes, and many times, courts have taken inconsistent approaches to resolving the issue. Chapter 27 examines the principle of proportionality in preserving and producing potentially relevant information with reference to cost.
Organisations, in-house legal departments and IT personnel can no longer turn a blind eye and pretend electronic discovery is just a passing fad. The 21st century courts are not only handling electronic data as mainstream discovery, they are also unwilling to tolerate destruction of relevant electronic evidence. Chapter 28 explains the notion of spoliation of evidence and sanctions that go with it.
Chapter 29 provides detailed analyses of the application of eDiscovery processes in specific areas of litigation. This underscores the very essence of eDiscovery practice as the process does not exist in a vacuum. Its application covers a wide area of law and evidence. They include but not limited to databases, audio evidence, matrimonial causes, criminal litigation, banks and financial houses, international arbitration, telecoms, social media, cloud, email, metadata, mergers and acquisition, etc.
The Nigeria Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) requires public institutions to proactively publish certain types of information even without any request. It further places an obligation that the identified information should be widely disseminated and made available to the public through various means, including electronic, print and online channels as well as at the organisation’s offices. There is no gainsaying that in today’s Internet age the Federal and State agencies are awash in electronic data. Not only are they constantly producing and collecting data, they in some respects are obligated to retain just about everything in electronic form. As data roams across agency networks, the volume of relevant data becomes inevitably huge, both in the Cloud and social channels. Given its nature in the discovery process, Chapters 30 addresses in a most detailed manner the Nigeria Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) with a view to its request and production in electronic format where the exigencies of litigation so dictate.
Part C: Digital Forensic Investigation, Prosecution and Defence
The goal of any investigation is to uncover and present the truth. This goal is the same for all forms of investigation, be it in pursuit of a murderer in the physical world or trying to track a computer intruder online. In any civil or criminal investigation exploring the resources of digital artifacts, the time spent, resources used, effort expended, evidence gathered and testimony taken means absolutely nothing if you cannot place the suspect behind the keyboard.
When data in a system is compromised, unauthourisadly accessed, copied or finds its way out of the machine, whether sent to a printer, emailed, burned to optical disk, written to a floppy or spirited away on a thumb drive, each conduit carries data away and leaves data behind as evidence of the transaction. For example, a hacker who gains access to a computer system that may or may not be secure, leaves no physical trace of his presence. In other words no latent fingerprints, footprints or traces of physiological fluids in the wake of his intrusion. But electronic activity in this case can be far more valuable in the bits and bytes this activity leaves behind. If the computer’s file access logs were accessible, it is possible that a record will be available showing that the file was, in fact, accessed, and even a track of the network transmission could be seen.
Digital forensic investigation must adhere to the standard of evidence and its admissibility for successful prosecution. This Part details how to conduct digital investigations in both criminal and civil contexts, and how to locate and utilise digital evidence on computers, networks, and embedded systems. Specifically, the chapter on the investigation methodology provides expert guidance in the three main areas of practice: forensic analysis, electronic discovery and intrusion investigation.
In addition this Part provides an essential reference that IT professionals, forensic practitioners, law enforcement and attorneys can rely on when confronted with computer-related crime and digital criminal investigation. It ensures that digital investigators remain current on new technologies, useful tools, relevant research, investigative techniques and methods for handling security breaches. Chapter 31 introduces the subject matter by examining the paradigm upon which investigative actions must precipitate, i.e., any action of an individual, and obviously, the violent action constituting the crime, cannot occur without leaving a trace.
After the thorough examination of the predicates, Chapter 32 commences with the basic concepts of digital forensic investigation. Digital forensics investigator must be familiar with basic understanding of operating system concepts, registry structures, file system concepts, boot process, and file operations.
As more and more users go mobile and utilise interconnected devices, computers are often at the centre of incidents and investigations. At the heart of every crime scene (when gathering evidence in an investigation is at issue), exists two basic questions the investigator must address: (1) how would he find and acquire the evidence, and (2) how would he properly document them once found? While physical evidence is tangible, visible and simple to collect, categorised and stored, digital evidence poses some unique challenges. Therefore, locating evidence in digital investigation is the concern of Chapter 33
It is not in debate that electronic evidence is information and data of investigative value that is stored on, or transmitted by, an electronic device. However, in its natural state, we cannot “see” what is contained in the physical object that holds the evidence. Equipment and essential toolkits are required to make the evidence visible. Chapter 34 explores these tools.
Section 39 of the Nigeria Cyber Crime Act, 2015, provides that:
“Where there are reasonable grounds to suspect that the content of any electronic communication is reasonably required for the purposes of a criminal investigation or proceedings, a judge may on the bases of information on oath order a service provider, through the application of technical means to intercept, collect, record, permit or assist competent authorities with the collection or recording of the content data and/or traffic data associated with specified communications transmitted by means of a computer system.”
The importance of this in criminal investigation cannot be over-emphasised. In other to appreciate the argument that may ensue in the execution of the said section, Chapter 35 gives a detailed insight into service providers’ authority for seizure and preservation of electronic data in Nigeria.
Digital forensic investigation is commonly employed as a post-event response to a serious information security or criminal incident. Its most common goal is to support or refute a hypothesis before criminal or civil (as part of the electronic discovery process) courts. Chapter 36 takes on digital forensic investigative methodology and processes.
We cannot conclude the methodology and processes of investigating cybercrime without demonstrating its application by reference to case study. In Nigeria money laundry has remained a bane and a critical malaise that has in recent times compromised the very essence of its existence. One of the biggest challenges in asset recovery investigation in Nigeria is producing the evidence that links the assets to the criminal activities (property-based confiscation) or proving that assets are a benefit derived from an offence committed by the target (value-based confiscation). To establish this link, investigators must identify and trace assets up to the point where the link with the offence or location of the assets can be determined. This is the focal point of Chapter 37
Finally, when the report of the forensic examiner indicts a particular individual or group of persons, the need for prosecution arises with its attendant challenges. The prosecutorial challenges in cybercrime prosecution raises preliminary issues the prosecutor must engage in other to thoroughly present his case as deemed fit in the circumstances. Chapter 38 x-rays these issues as well as the defence counsel obligation in challenge of the forensic report where expedient.
Part D: Expert Witness and Forensic Evidence
The distinctive role of the expert witness in legal proceeding refers to their ability to express an opinion. A witness will normally be allowed to give evidence of what he saw or heard directly, but will not be allowed to express an opinion as to the meaning or interpretation of those observations. In normal circumstances, it would be allowable for a witness to say that he heard “a loud bang”, but it would not be acceptable for that witness to say that he heard “a gunshot”, for that brings with it a greater element of interpretation.
However, there are some circumstances where it is thought to be appropriate for the court or tribunal to seek assistance from someone with established expertise in a certain area to help with the interpretation of the evidence. In this regard, forensic experts provide assistance to law enforcement agents and to the courts on matters of scientific, technical or other specialist knowledge beyond the general competence and ordinary commonsense experience of judges and magistrates. Hence, expert evidence is admissible in Nigeria when it is anticipated to be helpful to the court. However, if on the proven facts, a judge can form his conclusions without help, then the opinion of an expert is unnecessary.
To explore this province of enquiry, we confine all that are reasonably necessary to guide the lawyers and judges, respectively, in understanding the essence of forensic expert evidence in Part D of this book. The Part begins with Chapter 39 by running through the labyrinth of expert forensic evidence. It elucidates on expert witness, instructing/engaging an expert, the concept of common knowledge and expert evidence, expert-attorney relationship and communication, etc.
An expert witness is typically hired and paid by one of the sides in a legal dispute, but the fundamental responsibilities of the expert are to the court. The expert is sworn ‘to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth’, not “only those truths that help his client”. In addressing this responsibility, Chapter 40 brings to focus the constituent of this duty.
Ethical challenges leading to disqualification of expert witness may arise in certain circumstances or at any stage of a case. What are those ethical issues that can lead to the disqualification of an expert? Chapter 41 explores the key different areas where ethical issues may arise.
Chapter 42 elucidates on expert report. It examines its content and formats; role of legal counsel in the preparation of report; visual presentation of expert testimony/report in court; bindiness of forensic expert report; attitude of court towards the report of a team of experts and how conflict arising in the report of experts is treated by the court.
With the innovative scientific and technical evidence now making their entry into our courtrooms, especially in election petitions and criminal cases, much of the difficulty encountered by courts when faced with such scientific evidence, lies not necessarily in the lack of understanding the underlying science, but in the task of choosing between competing scientific explanations tendered by individuals who seek to wear the mantle of experts. In Chapter 43, the development and evolving standards of admissibility of scientific evidence to guide the court in the said circumstance is examined.
Finally, the forensic expert witness must have his day in court at one point or the other. Chapter 44 gets him ready. It details the preparation of the expert towards his testimony in court by way of examination and cross-examination. And above all, questions that may border the mind of the court in considering expert evidence admissibility when evaluating whether the characteristics of the expert’s methodology weigh in favour of or against admissibility.
Part E: Precedents and Landmark Cases from Foreign Jurisdictions in Digital Evidence, eDiscovery, Digital Forensic Investigation and Forensic Expert Evidence
As the world becomes increasingly globalised and information technology brings nations together in more sophisticated ways, we are faced with opportunities to learn from one another’s reasoning, wisdom and mistakes, so much so that today, courts in one country will find themselves drawing on the case law of those in another and seeing their own case law invoked by courts in countries elsewhere in the world. Therefore, recourse to precedents in foreign jurisdiction, where expedient in legal adjudication, becomes a veritable source of material in deciding the outcome of a given case.
As in many other areas of jurisprudence, case law related to digital evidence and eDiscovery in Nigeria is still at its infancy. It is important to note that in Nigeria there exists no methodology or practice direction for courts to determine whether discovery of ESI in a given case is appropriate, and if so, what consequences exist for failure to comply with a discovery order. I am not aware of any case in Nigeria, where issues in eDiscovery have been largely handled on a case-by-case basis, with any guiding precedent. It is true that the legal rules that guide discovery can be applied to ESI in general terms, in order to adequately execute such discovery, attorneys and judges must understand the technical underpinnings of relevant data and the practical results of applying the rules to specific technology.
While decisions of foreign courts are not binding, lawyers and judges, alike, can examine the precedents established in these courts for information and guidance. For instance, complying with the trend in the development of the laws having in mind the technological imperatives, many jurisdictions have been influenced and persuaded by the US legislation and case law on ESI and eDiscovery law practice.
Part E, therefore, examines, by way of introduction, in Chapter 45, the stare decisis (otherwise known as stare decisis et non quieta movere) and the concept of persuasive precedent or authority; recent case law development in digital evidence and eDiscovery law in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada, and the critical need for resort to foreign decisions in digital evidence and ediscovery.
Chapter 46 examines landmark cases on digital evidence. The analysis and application of the rules of evidence addressing the admissibility of electronic evidence in the US received a much needed examination in 2007 by the then Magistrate, Judge Paul Grimm, of the US District Court for the District of Maryland, in the seminal case of Lorraine v. Markel American Insurance Company, which remains a comprehensive guide to the admission of electronic evidence in the US courts. In Lorraine, Judge Grimm describes a decision model for addressing the admission of electronic evidence, which, unsurprisingly, is nearly identical to the one many proponents apply to the admission of more traditional forms of evidence. This and major other landmark cases are examined.
Chapter 47 specifically relates to such landmark cases that evolved the province of eDiscovery. Comparatively, for legal specialty that is somewhat new and a niche, eDiscovery law has produced an impressive number of outstanding jurists who have made electronic discovery an important part of their jurisprudence.
It is acknowledged that no jurist has had a greater impact on eDiscovery than the Honourable Shira Scheindlin, a US District Judge for the Southern District of New York. Scheindlin’s decisions in Zubulake v. UBS Warburg (landmark case in eDiscovery) were so influential that the rulings were partially absorbed into the US civil procedure amendments in 2006. Scheindlin’s thesis, opinion, ruling and judgment on eDiscovery law have remained profound and a giant force, influencing a generation of judges and lawyers over the past decade and a half. This and major other landmark cases have been examined.
Digital forensic investigation has its own share of landmark cases as captured by Chapter 48.
Finally, Chapter 49 profiles the landmark cases through the evolution of scientific expert evidence by examining Frye, Daubert and other cases.
In compliance with the 21st century workplace for the bar and the bench, the Appendix is fully automated to give easy access to and for use of templates for managing data output in real time. Access to the platform also provides a research area that is standardized for securing and keeping all of your files organized in one place, so that you can search them efficiently.
The Appendix incorporates eDiscoveryCheck List/Questionnair; Sample Interrogatories; Letter Sent to Client with Interrogatories; LegalHolds And Preservation Letters Template (letter to the Client and Opponent; Preservation Letter for Web Host/Provider/ISP, Application (Request) And Affidavit For Search Warrant; Grant Of Warrant To Search; Search Warrant; Officer’s Return; Certificate of Authenticity Submitted in Response to the Subpoena, The Evidence Act, 2011; CBN Guidelines on Electronic Banking in Nigeria AUGUST, 2003; Standards and Guidelines on Automated Teller Machine (ATM) Operations in Nigeria; CBN Guidelines on POS Card Acceptance Services; the United Kingdom Practice Direction 31B; Disclosure of Electronic Documents and the Glossary etc.