you have learned what digital evidence is, not in the physical sense but in the legal sense, and then what steps you should take to identify and collect it. To summarize the evidentiary information from the readings, there are four basic classifications of evidence that can be applied to items of potential investigative value: Testimonial Evidence – Testimony or a statement provided by an individual detailing what they observed or experienced (through any of their senses). For example, a witness may have heard tires screech and a loud crash but not actually have seen the accident. In this example, even though he didn’t actually see the crash, witness’s testimony is still valuable - it can help pinpoint the time of a crash, determine the number of vehicles involved, or speak to the lighting conditions or weather conditions were at the time of the accident. Testimonial evidence can be significant as either direct or corroborating evidence. In addition, expert testimony can be provided that allows a subject matter expert (vetted and accepted by the court) to offer opinions and interpretations (e.g., context) of other evidence that has been or will be presented. Real Evidence – Physical evidence. Examples would be a murder weapon, a hard disk drive, fingerprints, blood or other bodily fluids, clothing, stolen property, etc. Documentary Evidence – Documents (such as records, checks, or photographs) that are like real evidence in that it may be a physical item (e.g., printed material), but documentary evidence is also the results of the analysis of documents or records to show a pattern of behavior. For example, you examine (and create) potential documentary evidence each time you balance your checkbook. Demonstrative Evidence – Evidence that utilizes or requires a demonstration, such as the use of a chart or map, to help prove what happened. Demonstrative evidence is most often created by an expert witness; an example might be using a dummy to show how a person was standing when he was shot, or it could be a flow chart showing how money was moved between different accounts. All four types of evidence could be and frequently are used together in court to prove or disprove the facts of a case. Readings in Week 2 discussed search and seizure or the ability to retrieve evidence. Over the past two weeks, many of you have mentioned search warrants in your discussions. The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (and the Supreme Court’s subsequent interpretations thereof) requires that before a search can be conducted and evidence can be seized, the Government must obtain a search and seizure warrant (based on probable cause) from an impartial magistrate. However, there is no requirement for a private person or organization to obtain a search warrant or work under the same constraints. Further, the line can be blurred, as a private person or organization that searches property or seizes evidence (not needing a warrant) could subsequen ...