Neutral examiners

by Craig Ball

About the Author Craig Ball is a Texas lawyer who limits his practice to service as a court-appointed special master and consultant in computer forensics and electronic discovery.

I recently posted an open letter to judges on a blog that caters to an e-discovery audience. I asked judges to stop ordering parties to turn over their systems to the opposing side's computer forensic examiners and argued that most civil forensics work should be reserved to neutral examiners.

Now, while you rush to warm the tar and pluck the feathers, please hear me out.

Yes, most of my work as a computer forensic examiner is done as a neutral, but I do a lot as a partisan on either side of civil cases. Even so, use of a neutral isn't something that uniquely benefits me. It's something any competent, ethical examiner can and should do. What I'm advocating won't hurt you; in fact, it'll likely add to your job satisfaction.

Here's what I posted:

"Your Honors:

I just read another opinion where the Court decided to let one side's computer expert examine an opposing party's computers. The Court seemed more concerned with who would pay for the exam than what its consequences might be.

I'm a lawyer and computer forensic examiner, and I make part of my living doing just the sort of examinations the court ordered. I've done a whole bunch of them. So, while part of me wants to encourage courts to order more forensic exams — and I can surely attest to their efficacy in resurrecting data thought gone and exposing case-making evidence — the angel at my ear requires me to softly whisper, "WHAT THE HECK WERE YOU THINKING, JUDGE?!?..."

Read more at http://www.forensicfocus.com/craig-ball

Posted by siska ika

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