How hard can it be to present video evidence in court? This statement does not refer to the difficulty of playing the video and conducting a presentation. But instead, using video as evidence to build a case – not just build, but win a case. That is a whole other ballgame.
As with the increasing use of security cameras by businesses and homeowners, patrol-car dashboards and body-worn cameras by law enforcement, and smartphones and tablet cameras by the general public, it is becoming unusual to see a court case that does not include video evidence.
Legal attorneys must understand the context of the incident in the video evidence so that the judge and jury can reach the correct verdict. This means which segment to clip, which to redact, and how to present video evidence in court with relevant facts and a complete chain of custody, ensuring evidence integrity. However, not every video clip is admissible in court.
Rules of evidence are the rules by which a court determines what evidence is admissible at trial. In the U.S., federal courts follow the federal rules of evidence. We can summarize all of them into three basic categories.
Just because an incident has been captured does not imply an open and shut case.
It is up to the attorneys to filter out irrelevant segments that do not accurately represent the case because the context and timing of video evidence may be the deciding factor during the trial.
Evidence needs to be lawfully obtained and from a reliable source. It must be authentic and not manipulated, tampered or falsified in any way.
Some videos come from poorly managed systems such as general stores and suburbs. How these recordings are stored and shared raises concerns about the originality and credibility of the video evidence presented in court.
In such scenarios, witnesses are required to testify if the contents of the footage purport what it claims to show.
The Hearsay Rule states that out-of-court statements cannot be admitted as evidence to prove the truth of the matter asserted unless they fall under specific exceptions. If a video recording contains verbal statements from someone not present in court, it may be considered hearsay and deemed inadmissible.
However, there are exceptions where hearsay video evidence is allowed. For example, security footage from a managed surveillance system may qualify under the business records exception. Similarly, a statement made by a person who believes they are about to die, known as a dying declaration, can be admissible.
Additionally, another exception is an excited utterance, where statements made under extreme stress or excitement, captured in a video, may be considered reliable. Attorneys must carefully evaluate whether spoken words in a video meet any of these exceptions before presenting them in court.
The Exclusionary Rule prevents the use of illegally obtained evidence in legal proceedings. Rooted in the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, this rule ensures that individuals are protected against unlawful searches and seizures.
If video evidence is recorded without proper authorization, such as through unauthorized wiretapping or illegal surveillance, it may be suppressed in court. Law enforcement officers must obtain a warrant before accessing video footage from private security systems or other restricted sources.
If video evidence is deemed to have been obtained unlawfully, a defense attorney can file a motion to suppress it, preventing its use at trial. This rule upholds due process and ensures that digital evidence collection follows legal procedures.
The Judicial Notice rule allows courts to accept widely recognized facts without requiring formal proof. This principle applies to video evidence in several ways. Courts may acknowledge the reliability of standard security camera practices without needing expert testimony to validate them.
If a video’s timestamp follows a widely accepted format, such as UTC-based security systems, courts may recognize it without requiring additional evidence.
Additionally, geolocation metadata from a video may be judicially noticed if it aligns with publicly available sources, such as Google Maps data. By reducing the need for unnecessary verification of commonly accepted facts, this rule streamlines legal proceedings and ensures efficiency when handling video evidence.
In a situation where no witness is present to testify against the video evidence in court, how to check its authenticity? By checking the capturing environment, you can deduce when, where, and even why the footage was recorded.
Under the Silent Witness theory, If the video evidence captured comes from a properly managed system like those in banks, large shopping centers, and places where security is tight, it may stand alone as substantive evidence without accompanying a witness testimony.
Now that you are aware of the criteria, here are some tips for using video evidence in court to make a winning case. Let us get an in-depth look at each of these five tips for a better understanding.
Aside from checking how the video evidence has been tampered with or running through deep-fake technology, it is imperative also to present an unmodifiable record of all the actions in the court of law. One of law enforcement's greatest challenges is the digital evidence collection process.
Nowadays, the prevalence of video editing software makes it dangerously simple to manipulate videos. Not having a monitoring system to track each change on a file means multiple ways to twist and complicate the truth around a crime scene.
Therefore, the judge and jury in court may question who possessed such video evidence and how it was managed since the incident was captured.
While analyzing and enhancing file segments, law enforcement users work on a duplicate version of the file. To present in court, attorneys prepare rigorously to anticipate any claims against how and where video evidence was created.
Sometimes, submitting an original file is a safer bet as some courts may not accept enhancements and clippings in video evidence.
To further validate the originality of video evidence, tamper detection mechanisms are essential. Digital evidence management tools can analyze metadata, file hashes, and watermarking to confirm that the footage has not been altered. These verification techniques provide a transparent chain of custody, ensuring that the evidence remains intact and admissible in court.
Having video evidence admissibility also requires proper security protocols in place. Without it, the evidence can be easily tampered with, reuploaded with a different version, changed by unauthorized personnel such as malicious insiders, or exposed to external cyberattacks and more.
Features like end-to-end encryption (at rest & transit), permissions given to users and groups, SSO integration, and advance sharing controls (password protection, link expiry & limited viewing) will ensure evidence retained its true nature till the case closure.
Transcription not only meets compliance requirements but also ensures accessibility when presenting an interview room recording. Not everyone in court will be able to hear the video perfectly.
To counter that, the video should be transcribed. If audiovisual evidence is in a foreign language, translation can help to reduce or eliminate ambiguity.
By hiding all Personally identifiable information (PII) such as faces, bodies and license plates through redaction, law enforcement agencies can protect the privacy of witnesses and innocent bystanders as well as prevent lawsuits from violating requirements as per GDPR, FOIA, CCPA and other region-specific data privacy laws.
Beyond PII, law enforcement must also consider redacting other sensitive elements, such as audio conversations, undercover officer identities, and classified law enforcement procedures. Automated AI-powered redaction tools can streamline this process, ensuring efficiency while maintaining the integrity of the evidence. Additionally, maintaining an audit trail of redactions helps prove that the original evidence remains unaltered while allowing agencies to justify their compliance efforts in legal proceedings.
To ensure transparency, access controls and permission-based viewing should be in place, allowing only authorized personnel to access unredacted footage. This ensures that sensitive data is protected while still enabling secure sharing of video evidence with relevant parties, such as legal teams, courts, or oversight bodies.
When it comes to court hearings, every single piece of evidence matters; several times, the evidence holds enough weight to turn around a case entirely.
Therefore, it is necessary to appropriate digital evidence disclosure by ingesting it from all sources.
Evidence can be sourced from various elements like CCTVs, mobile phone recordings from bystanders, Dash-cam footage, and Body-cams recordings from police officers.
VIDIZMO Digital Evidence Management System (DEMS) is a hardware-agnostic platform that can ingest evidence from various elements, store it, and allows centralized access to the data for the users that have the necessary permissions to access it.
Learn more on digital evidence disclosure to understand better why we need to extract evidence from all sources.
How would you bring video evidence to the court during a trial? The days of carrying it in CDs and pen drives have ended. Now, digital evidence is shared digitally.
But wait! Sharing digital evidence through online channels isn’t safe. We need a platform such as VIDIZMO DEMS that incorporates various mechanisms to keep the process of sharing evidence with prosecutors, jury, and other law enforcers safe.
You may wonder how VIDIZMO DEMS presents itself to solve the video evidence authenticity issue in court.
By helping law enforcement and legal attorneys fulfill the court’s prerequisites for video evidence admissibility by maintaining audit logs and chain of custody reports, running tamper detection to check for unauthorized changes, and automating most back-office tasks using Artificial Intelligence for legal purposes.
With robust security controls, your files will meet the compliance set forth by GDPR, CCPA, FedRAMP, and data privacy laws.
You can even hide PII present in custom objects like symbols, tattoos, logos, and mute or bleep spoken words.
VIDIZMO DEMS enhances operational efficiency and digital evidence management by integrating seamlessly with a variety of IT systems. These integrations help law enforcement, legal teams, and government agencies improve adaptability, streamline workflows, and eliminate digital evidence silos.
Ensure secure and seamless access by integrating VIDIZMO DEMS with any SSO provider of your choice. This includes directory services, Identity Access Management (IAM) solutions, and third-party authentication providers. By implementing SSO, agencies can enhance security while reducing password fatigue for users.
Connect VIDIZMO DEMS with your existing RMS to automatically ingest, store, manage, and retrieve case-related digital evidence. This integration facilitates efficient case handling by ensuring that all video, audio, and document-based evidence is securely linked to corresponding records within the RMS.
Enhance incident response and real-time communication by integrating VIDIZMO DEMS with your agency’s CAD system. Officers and investigators can quickly locate calls, texts, and radio recordings associated with a specific case, allowing for streamlined evidence retrieval and improved situational awareness.
Simplify and centralize digital evidence organization by integrating VIDIZMO DEMS with a CMS. This ensures better searchability, categorization, and secure sharing of digital assets, allowing users to efficiently manage and access critical evidence without compromising security or compliance.
Integrate with identity management platforms to streamline user provisioning and access control. VIDIZMO DEMS supports automated user and group configurations, ensuring that only authorized personnel can access, modify, or share digital evidence.
Automatically ingest and securely store critical interviews and interrogations captured in interview rooms. With VIDIZMO DEMS, these recordings can be indexed, searched, and analyzed using AI-powered tools for transcription, keyword search, and sentiment analysis, ensuring crucial evidence is easily retrievable for investigations and legal proceedings.
With AI-driven indexing, spoken words in transcriptions can be automatically labeled and made searchable. This allows investigators and attorneys to quickly locate specific statements, identify key evidence, and solve cases more efficiently.
VIDIZMO DEMS offers extensive integration capabilities beyond these examples, allowing agencies to customize and optimize their digital evidence management workflow. By integrating with essential IT systems, law enforcement and legal teams can ensure faster evidence retrieval, improved case collaboration, and enhanced security compliance.
With video evidence estimated to be involved in approximately 80 percent of crimes, managing digital evidence effectively has become more challenging than ever. Ensuring that evidence remains unaltered, securely stored, and properly managed is essential for its admissibility in court.
VIDIZMO DEMS addresses these challenges by providing a comprehensive, AI-powered digital evidence management system that streamlines ingestion, enhances security, automates compliance, and ensures authenticity.
Discover how VIDIZMO DEMS can transform your evidence management workflow. Contact us to schedule a personalized demo with our experts or click the button below to start your 7-day free trial today!
What makes video evidence admissible in court?
Video evidence must be relevant, reliable, and authentic, with a verified chain of custody and compliance with legal standards.
How can video evidence be authenticated?
Authentication involves ensuring the video has not been tampered with, maintaining audit logs, and verifying its source and chain of custody.
What are the best practices for presenting video evidence?
Use the original recording, ensure security protocols, redact sensitive information, and provide transcriptions for clarity and compliance.
Why is chain of custody important for video evidence?
It ensures the evidence has been handled securely and remains unaltered from its capture to its presentation in court.
How can technology like VIDIZMO help with video evidence?
VIDIZMO provides secure ingestion, management, sharing, and authentication of video evidence while meeting legal and compliance requirements.