Forensic Science in Doubt in Florida Federal and State Courts

The National Research Council (NRC) reviewed forensic practices in this country and concluded industry standards are in need of serious upgrading. The results of this study are published in: Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward. The report found: a lack of mandatory and enforceable standards based on research and testimony; unacceptable backlogs in local and state laboratories; lack of ties to research universities; and lack of central governance to correct weaknesses in the field.

NRC recommended changes:

* Stronger leadership to strengthen forensic science through an independent National Institute of Forensic Science;

* Certification for forensic science professionals and accreditation for laboratories;

* Results which indicate the level of uncertainty in the measurements of DNA analysis;

* Court testimony grounded in science which acknowledge uncertainties; etc.

The computer forensic team used by Board Certified Criminal Trial Lawyer W.F. ''Casey'' Ebsary, Jr., helps level the field when federal or state crime labs line up on the other side. Call Toll Free 1-877-793-9290. Get some help today.

Computer Forensics, electronic discovery, eDiscovery, Florida Financial Fraud Defense Attorney, Internet Expert Attorney Florida, Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney

Florida Cybercrime Unit Tampa

A new CyberCrime Unit was officially opened in the Bay area Wednesday. The Jacksonville unit opened last year. The Tampa unit will perform online investigations of potential child predators. Other offices are in Orlando and Fort Lauderdale. The unit will expand to 56 people throughout the state. The program hopes to provide support for local law enforcement agencies for investigating, arresting and prosecuting Internet predators and child pornographers.

Fort Myers, Tallahassee and Pensacola are also scheduled to open in the next several months.

W.F. "Casey" Ebsary, Jr. is a Board Certified Criminal Trial Lawyer, an expert, available to help in these complex computer cases at 1-877-793-9290.

Internet Drug Indictments

Florida Federal prosecutors in the Middle District have charged physicians and others with running an web-based prescription drug operations and claim they are illegally dispensing millions of doses of medication.

The website operators are charged with hiring pharmacists and doctors to issue prescriptions based on Internet questionnaires, the charges say. According to the United States Attorney, Web sites and representatives are used to sell the drugs.

Prosecutors intend to prove that doctors and pharmacists are paid to review short questionnaires and then never see the patients they were prescribing medicines to. Beyond that, none of the information submitted was ever verified, authorities said.

W F Casey Ebsary and cocounsel Marcelino Huerta III have successfully defended such claims in Federal Court. Call Toll Free 1-877-793-9290 for more details and to get some help today.

eDiscovery Florida Mobile Devices

Mobile devices, cell phones and Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) are now an everyday part of how organizations do business. The devices transmit and receive data, log activity, and these mobile offices are as useful in discovery as traditional desktops and laptops.

The information that can be gathered from mobile devices can be forensically retrieved. Forensic data includes corporate e-mail, personal e-mail, Short Message Service (SMS) text messages, personal notes, calendar entries, photographs, address books, and inbound and outbound call logs. When placed into a timeline of events, this type of information can be invaluable to prove certain facts for a case. An expert can preserve the chain of custody and this data can be useful in litigation.

eDiscovery Florida Computer Forensics Expert

Sanctions and eDiscovery

The ABA has recommended that processes and procedures be put in place to avoid sanctions for violation of Discovery rules and the harsh sanctions for violation thereof.

Use Meta-Tagging -- Meta-tagging enables a user to tag files as being an active part of an investigation. This produces a document set where parties can isolate matching files into a working result set. You must have the ability to review files in their native format without destroying file content integrity. An accurate list of files ensures that no document outside the confines of the E-Discovery scope are exposed and thus submitted as evidence. Frozen Redacted PDF files are then used for case evidence. Redacted PDFs are protected against spoilage.

e Discovery Attorney Lawyer Tampa Florida

What is eDiscovery? Expert Florida

eDiscovery describes the exchange and disclosure of electronically stored information (ESI). In December 2006 the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure were changed to include specific requirements and guidelines regarding how to handle eDiscovery.

Since more than 90% of documents are now created electronically, and less than 30% of those electronic documents are ever converted to paper, these new rules are likely to have an impact on how everyone conducts business. The new rules on preserving ESI make having an eDiscovery complaint document retention policy more important than ever before. An expert may be needed to search terabytes of data that litigants may have.

eDiscovery Lawyer Attorney Tampa Florida

eDiscovery, Cybercrime, and Punishment

43 nations have signed on to the Convention on Cybercrime drafted by the Council of Europe with considerable input from the United States. The cost of combating cyber crime committed overseas may now be passed on to American businesses. Under the new treaty, participating countries are given sweeping access to information in United States for cybercrimes that may have been committed overseas.

For example, France has strict laws addressing the sale of Nazi memorabilia. Sale of those items on eBay may not necessarily violate United States laws. However, French authorities may seek information from buyers and sellers in the United States regarding sales that are otherwise legal in the U.S. . Article 12 of the treaty may make businesses liable for "lack of supervision or control" of employees to may have committed criminal offense(s) covered by the convention. Businesses need to watch employee activity that, while legal in the United States, may violate the laws of a participating signer of the treaty.

The record retention requirements in the treaty may require business to address the electronic discovery (eDiscovery) and computer forensics requirements that may be mandated by this new law. The costs of the Treaty will be borne by the private sector.