header-logo header-logo

24 February 2015 / Tracey Stretton
Categories: Features , Procedure & practice , Technology , Jackson
printer mail-detail

Silent witness

Tracey Stretton highlights the power of electronic evidence

Somewhere between conviction and appeal in the widely publicised Oscar Pistorius trial, I find myself thinking not only about the tragedy that occurred two years ago but also about justice and about the power that electronic evidence has to shape it. I am going to perhaps disappoint you now by expressing no opinion on the case, even though I am a South African lawyer, mainly because I do not feel equipped to do so and because we are somewhere between a conviction and an appeal.

Watching a trial played out in the media is no match for reading the actual transcripts of the trial, studying the legal concepts and working with forensic experts to form a proper view of the evidence. Many of us have felt for some time, however, that there were silent witnesses in the room on the fateful night that Reeva Steenkamp was shot. These took the shape of iPhones and iPads which might have revealed what happened. I thought it would be instructive

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Thackray Williams—Lucy Zhu

Thackray Williams—Lucy Zhu

Dual-qualified partner joins as head of commercial property department

Morgan Lewis—David A. McManus

Morgan Lewis—David A. McManus

Firm announces appointment of next chair

Burges Salmon—Rebecca Wilsker

Burges Salmon—Rebecca Wilsker

Director joins corporate team from the US

NEWS
What safeguards apply when trust corporations are appointed as deputy by the Court of Protection? 
Disputing parties are expected to take part in alternative dispute resolution (ADR), where this is suitable for their case. At what point, however, does refusing to participate cross the threshold of ‘unreasonable’ and attract adverse costs consequences?
When it comes to free legal advice, demand massively outweighs supply. 'Millions of people are excluded from access to justice as they don’t have anywhere to turn for free advice—or don’t know that they can ask for help,' Bhavini Bhatt, development director at the Access to Justice Foundation, writes in this week's NLJ
When an ex-couple is deciding who gets what in the divorce or civil partnership dissolution, when is it appropriate for a third party to intervene? David Burrows, NLJ columnist and solicitor advocate, considers this thorny issue in this week’s NLJ
NLJ's latest Charities Appeals Supplement has been published in this week’s issue
back-to-top-scroll