By Suzi Morales
innovation
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Professor Christina Miller
Photograph by Michael J. Clarke
winter 2023
As our lives become increasingly digital, so do the questions about what evidence can be introduced in courts. In the recent case Commonwealth v. Davis, for example, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held that the trial judge should not have admitted evidence of a car’s speed as calculated from GPS data drawn from a device the defendant wore. The Court held that there had been insufficient testing to ensure the accuracy of the speed data.
In another case, Lehan v. Commonwealth, the Massachusetts Appeals Court found that GPS data from the defendant’s worn device was inadmissible because the prosecution presented insufficient foundation that the GPS data was reliable.
Though such evidentiary issues stemming from digital data are becoming more common, few law schools teach a course on digital evidence in criminal cases, perhaps because it seems too advanced or too fluid, says Professor Christina Miller, who regularly presented digital evidence, including in cyber crime cases, as a prosecutor for the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office. The subject, which she began teaching last spring, is increasingly important for effective criminal law practice, she says.
Throughout the semester, Miller scoured court slip opinions to present new fact patterns to her class, including those two recent GPS cases. “We could not have timed it better,” Miller says. “Every week, there would be a new decision concerning digital evidence and the subjects we covered.”
The course fills a need for aspiring litigators like 3L Killian Buckley, who will enter the Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps after graduation. Smartphones, vehicles, watches, video doorbells, and drones are just a few sources of digital evidence, she says. “In the class, we were able to learn about the types of digital evidence, how to direct an investigation, how to legally obtain the evidence, and how to use the evidence appropriately in court.”
The courts want to ensure digital evidence is reliable and trustworthy, Miller says. “Future lawyers who have knowledge of digital evidence will be at a distinct advantage and have the skills to get digital evidence before a jury or keep unreliable digital evidence out of the jury’s consideration.”
