Tips for presenting Electronic Data Discovery Evidence

I found a very informative online article providing tips for presenting electronic data discovery evidence at http://www.law.com/jsp/legaltechnology/pubArticleLT.jsp?id=1187254929712. While it is geared towards evidence-presentation before a jury, it will in the same vein be useful in enlightening a judge, especially here in the Philippines where the majority of judges aren't tech-oriented.

Tagline:

"Have you tried presenting electronic evidence to a jury through the testimony of a computer forensic expert? If you have, it's likely you relied on the talking head to present opinions to the jury. Attorney Bruce Olson warns that without demonstrative evidence you run the risk of putting the jury to sleep."

Excerpts:

"If you simply ask your expert to verbally describe how the electronic information was secured, how it was analyzed and what information was important to justify your position in the case, you are taking a big chance.

Without the use of appropriate demonstrative evidence, you run the risk of confusing a jury with unintelligible technical jargon. You may expose your expert to impeachment on the basis of qualifications or methodology simply because the jury didn't understand what the expert did or why his opinion should be deemed reliable. Finally, without demonstrative evidence, you run the risk of boring the jury so they sleep right through your expert's key testimony.
Every attorney who deals with electronic evidence at trial must use some form of demonstrative evidence if he or she wants the jury to understand the expert's testimony. Please note -- this doesn't mean simply dropping a screen capture or two of a vendor's spreadsheet into a Microsoft Corp. PowerPoint slide.

It means using a compelling mixture of different types of demonstrative evidence to educate the jury -- and in all likelihood the judge -- about a number of factors. In order to believe the expert's ultimate conclusions, the jury must understand how the computer hardware that holds the electronically stored information works; what software was used to create the information; what metadata associated with key evidence was created or altered; just what metadata is; and how the metadata might be relevant to your theory of the case."