Course: Evidence Law
Electronic evidence, also known as digital evidence, is any type of evidence that is stored or transmitted in a digital format.
This can include a wide variety of data, such as emails, text messages, social media posts, digital documents, audio and video files, and more.
Electronic evidence is increasingly being used in legal proceedings, both in criminal and civil cases. It can be used to establish guilt or innocence, to prove the existence of a contract, or to support other types of legal claims. However, electronic evidence can also be complex and difficult to understand, and it may require special expertise to collect, preserve, and analyze.
In the legal context, it is a set of information, either stored or transmitted electronically, that is admissible in a court of law. It is the digital version of traditional physical evidence. Examples include emails, social media posts, photographs, and videos. It is used to prove or disprove a point of fact in a legal dispute or to establish a chain of events in a criminal investigation.
Electronic evidence must meet certain criteria to be admissible as evidence in court. It must be relevant to the case, it must be authentic and not tampered with, and it must be legally obtained. In order to ensure that electronic evidence is admissible, it must be properly collected, preserved, and analyzed by experts who understand the technical aspects of the digital data involved.