SWGDE Best Practices for Personnel Presenting Digital Evidence in Legal Proceedings
Scientific Working Group on Digital Evidence · Version 1.1, published 2024-02-02 · 2024
Identifier: SWGDE 23-Q-001-1.1
Access and status
Cost
Free
Free to read or download at source. No account, no purchase.
Status
Current
Current as at the verification date below. Standards and tools both move — confirm at source before you rely on it.
What it is
SWGDE's guidance for examiners who have to present digital evidence in court or other proceedings, covering preparation, exhibits, scope of testimony and staying within demonstrated competence. The version verified here is 23-Q-001-1.1 dated 2 February 2024.
Who it is for, and when
Read it before your first testimony and before any hearing where your methods, not just your findings, will be probed. Lawyers preparing an examiner should read it too, because it flags the places where technically correct answers get misheard. SWGDE's 22-Q-001-1.1, Introduction to Testimony in Digital and Multimedia Forensics, is the companion primer.
What it does not cover
It is written for US proceedings and does not address the admissibility tests themselves — no Daubert or Frye analysis, and nothing on English or EU procedure. It is guidance on conduct, not a substitute for witness familiarisation by instructing counsel.
Go to the source
Open at swgde.org (opens in a new tab)https://www.swgde.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2024-02-02-SWGDE-Best-Practices-for-Personnel-Presenting-Digital-Evidence-in-Legal-Proceedings-23-Q-001-1.1.pdf
Details
- Type
- Standard or guidance
- Written for
- Working examinerLawyers and courtsWorking examiner, Lawyers and courts
- Publisher
- Scientific Working Group on Digital Evidence
- Version verified
- Version 1.1, published 2024-02-02
- Year
- 2024
- Identifier
- SWGDE 23-Q-001-1.1
- Topics
- expert-testimony, legal-admissibility, reporting, us-federal
- Checked at source
- Standards are revised. Confirm the current revision with the publisher before citing this.
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