Evidential Issues: Presenting Data
Ian Walden · 2007
Abstract Having carried out the investigations and obtained what appears to be sufficient evidence, the next stage in the criminal justice process is the prosecution of the computer criminal, a process of presenting evidence to a court or tribunal of fact. Evidential rules tend to be very specific to each jurisdiction, but as with many areas of law, a broad distinction can be made between civil and common law systems. In civil law systems, criminal proceedings are generally based upon a judge(s) acting as an investigator, gathering and evaluating the evidence. By contrast, common law criminal proceedings are generally adversarial, with evidence being presented and challenged by the prosecutor and the defendant’s legal advisers before a jury and/or judge.