Objections to Cell Phone Forensics and Analysis in Court

Last Updated on Tuesday, 17 May 2011 06:23 Written by kelly.solid Friday, 4 February 2011 09:25

Most law enforcement have one objective in mind: catch the bad guys.  Unfortunately, part of the process is proving your case in court which is not as easy as it seems.  Defense attorneys will do whatever it takes to get their clients off, even if the evidence points otherwise.  One area that is becoming more and more of a controversy is the area of Cell Forensics and Cell Forensic Analysis.

Take a particular homicide case that is currently being tried in Lakeport, CA. The prosecution in this case has presented cell forensic and phone analysis vital in determining who communicated what, where and when.  Much of the cell phone analysis is based on cell phone forensics produced by the Northern California Computer Crimes Task Force (CCTF).

In the case, a detective at the CCTF provided testimony related to information retrieved from the (victim’s) cell phone as well as a cell phone associated with the (main suspect). The testimony provided related to call logs, contact lists and text messages sent and received between the phones.

“The defense voiced objections to taking information within messages allegedly sent between (the victim, the main suspect and a witness) on the grounds of hearsay as the CCTF detective testified that forensic capabilities do not allow for identification of who actually used a specific phone at any specific time.” Fortunately the objection was over ruled in this case.