In any court case involving expert witness testimony, sticking to the evidence is an area of critical importance.
The email expert witness is there to guide the court based on their experience. No one else in the court, apart from any other expert witness, is able to provide the same level of knowledge. The court primarily expects guidance based on the facts presented. An expert witness may be tempted to speculate based on their experiences in the area of email messaging systems, but this must be resisted, unless they are specifically asked.
The email expert witness is expected by the court to be unbiased. Any speculation provided, if not requested, may be perceived as moving away from impartiality, and therefore being biased. Any testimony provided by an email expert witness who is perceived to be biased will carry less weight with the court. The Ikarian Reefer principles are a relevant reference for this.
A leading email expert witness will be concise with their testimony, ensuring factual evidence is referenced. Speculation should be resisted, unless asked specifically. This simple rule can be crucial in the outcome of any email forensics court case, especially if the opposing email expert witness is seen as being biased by the court – weakening their authority and credibility.
Contact Rob Walton if you need an experienced email expert witness to help you with your email forensics requirements. Return to the home page of Global Email Forensics for further details.