Today I am talking to barrister and author Stephen Mayson. Stephen is an expert in the field of electronic and digital evidence. The author of several books on digital evidence and electronic signatures, his website is a useful resource for lawyers and students alike. Stephen Mason website
To give you a foretaste of what we are going to talk about, I quote from the preface of Stephen Mayson’s book Electronic Evidence: Disclosure, Discovery & Admissibility (LexisNexis Butterworths, 2007)
“Lawyers and judges now deal with digital evidence regularly, even if it mainly in the form of email correspondence, the authenticity of which may not be in question… ”
But…as the preface shows, the issue of digital evidence is far more complex and appears to be badly understood in some quarters… and, surprisingly, is not a formal part of current vocational legal education – at least in terms of depth of study.
Contents:
The nature of digital evidence – what it is, distinguish between digital and analogue evidence [very important to help understand] – Why digital evidence is different to any other form of evidence [characteristics] – An example of what has gone wrong [both lawyers, judge and digital evidence specialists: the Julie Amero case]
– Suggestions about education
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Listen to Podcast 70: Stephen Mayson on Digital Evidence
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Stephen Mayson website | General Editor, Digital Evidence and Electronic Signature Law Review
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CPD Channel are presenting a course on electronic signatures with Stephen Mayson.
Charon QC 
Perhaps pertinent, and perhaps not, is the site imagestamper.com, which will on request make a record of the licence currently attached to a photo on flickr.com.
Charon, got a quick list of the cases mentioned (particularly the temporary school teacher)? My mp3 player is such that I can’t pause, rewind slightly and continue. If I miss something I have to go back to the beginning and try again.
The Definition and Function of the Signature (drawn from Mason 2007), worth a read.