Use of discovery

Use of discovery

Discovery is a major resource for the defense attorney. The prosecutor, the police, and the victim are all parties on whom defense discovery motions may be served, usually with productive results. Typically the police department or other investigative agency will have numerous reports that should be analyzed carefully. Depending on the case, these reports may be crucial to establishing a reasonable doubt.

Documentation, all the written explanations of how a computer system works, is another type of evidence that may be important in a computer case. The victim is likely to have extensive documentation of its computer system as well as numerous reports pertaining to the system's function. Often the documentation describes how a relevant computer program is supposed to work; therefore, a change in the programming should be reflected in the documentation.FN34

The defense may want to employ various private investigators and consultants such as computer security consultants, EDP auditors, and systems analysts to assist in the investigation.FN35