A discovery process used in child pornography cases
In criminal cases involving Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), the prosecution rarely produces forensic reports or source data to the defense due to the timely redaction process required to exclude CSAM media from the production. Software applications, commonly used by digital forensic analysts to process and examine sources of digital evidence, have started to include methods for generating reports with the contraband redacted or to export data in a format which excludes all image or video files completely. While this may not replace the need for an on-site forensic examination by a defense expert, it can save time and expenses for both sides during the discovery phase, and subsequently, the examination phase. This article provides one technique using Magnet Axiom software, an application commonly used by law enforcement, for accomplishing such an export. Background Discovery is the legal process of one party turning over evidentiary material it has in it...