THE ULTIMATE PRODUCTIVITY TOOL

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2 Photoshop is a verb, not a forensic tool When processing images and video for court, many agencies will try to do more with less. They will make the mistake in thinking that standard commercial photo editors will be fine. The software is often very inexpensive or even free. But, would you trust your case to just any piece of software? Now, in courtrooms and in the media, there s a common term for modifying images and video in a nefarious or bad way; it s called Photoshopping. Fashion models are Photoshopped. Advertisements contain fantastic Photoshopped compositions. The questions is; now that Photoshop is a verb and not a forensic tool do you want your evidentiary images and video to be Photoshopped? Is it legal? There are two major legal standards to deal with in the US, Frye and Daubert. There are some variations to these, like California s modified Frye (Kelly-Frye). Then there s the various evidence codes. Each state has it s own evidence code. The US Federal Government has theirs as well. The Frye Standard Where novel scientific evidence is at issue, the Frye inquiry allows the judiciary to defer to scientific expertise precisely as to whether or not it has gained general acceptance in the relevant field. The trial court s gatekeeper role in this respect is conservative, thus helping to keep pseudoscience out of the courtroom. In Frye states, Axon products meet the general acceptance threshold. Axon software is used by all major law enforcement agencies in the US, most of Canada s LE agencies, and around the world (local, state, and federal). It s used both in private practice and by government agencies. The Daubert Standard In Frye states, it s usually enough for a practitioner to inform the court that the tool in question has general acceptance. In Daubert states, and with the US government in Federal Courts, the Daubert standard goes from tell me (Frye) to show me (Daubert). If there s a question about a particular tool or technique, either side can request a Daubert Hearing. Within the hearing, the tool/technique is demonstrated and questions as to process, science, etc are asked/answered. If the judge is satisfied that the tool/technique passes the test, then the evidence is admitted.

3 Daubert places a heavy emphasis on science and the scientific method. Has the scientific theory or technique been empirically tested? According to K. Popper (1989) in The Growth of Scientific Knowledge, the criterion on the scientific status of a theory is its falsifiability, refutability, and testability. In the case of Axon products, the answer is yes. The source of the algorithms are scientific / academic texts and papers. They re all from peer-reviewed and publicly available sources. The scientific status of the theory / technique is covered in each referenced source. In the case of Axon FIVE, the source of the algorithm, publication date, and etc., for all filters used are all included in the report generated by the user. All trial courts make a preliminary determination of admissibility. This job involves a preliminary assessment of whether the evidence is relevant, competent, and material. In short, can the evidence be properly applied to the facts in this case? This is the traditional gatekeeping function of courts. Sample Report Section This has more to do with the competence of the user than the tool itself. Has the practitioner properly used his/her tool? Is the practitioner qualified / trained in the use of the tool. For Amped, we ve trained hundreds of practitioners all over the world. Thus, this part of the gatekeeping is satisfied with training. Has the scientific theory or technique been subjected to peer review and publication? This ensures that flaws in the methodology would have been detected and that the technique is finding its way into use via the literature. Again, all of the algorithms in Axon products come from peer-reviewed publications. Can the technique and its results be explained with sufficient clarity and simplicity so that the court and the jury can understand its plain meaning? This is just the Marx standard, which is assumed to be incorporated in Daubert as it was with Frye.

4 This is the real beauty of the reports generated by Axon products. Axon FIVE s report, for example, gives the user the plain English explanation, the more detailed scientific/academic explanation, as well as the filter s settings, and the reference source for each filter that is applied within the workflow. No other product on the market does this. Federal Rules of Evidence (Rule 702) General acceptance is not a necessary precondition to the admissibility of scientific evidence under the Federal Rules of Evidence (FRE), but the FRE especially rule 702 do assign the trial judge the task of ensuring that an expert s testimony both rests on a reliable foundation and is relevant to the task at hand. Pertinent evidence based on scientifically valid principles will satisfy those demands.. If scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge will assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue, a witness qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education, may testify thereto in the form of an opinion or otherwise, if (1) the testimony is based upon sufficient facts or data, (2) the testimony is the product of reliable principles and methods, and (3) the witness has applied the principles and methods reliably to the facts of the case. Not to beat the point to death, but Axon products more than meet this standard. The thing that our customers love so much is that the work that they do can be presented with such a rock-solid report that gives them the confidence to present what they ve done to judge/jury. They don t have to be a rocket scientist, though a few of our customers actually are. They just have to follow their training, and confidently read from the report. Q: I see that you ve applied a Levels filter in step 4. Does that filter s algorithm come from a peerreviewed and published source. A: Yes, indeed. It s from Dr. Anil Jain s 1989 textbook, Fundamentals of Digital Image Processing. You can find the algorithm s discussion and description on page... It s important to know that over 50% of the filters in Photoshop come from proprietary algorithms (internal, patented, secret). That number continues to grow as Adobe supports its main customers, professional photographers. For those using freeware tools, where s the references and support? It s non-existent.

5 So here s something to consider when working in law enforcement forensics where a mistake could either convict the innocent or free the guilty, don t you want a rocksolid tool set that any court in the land would accept? Of course you would. Unlike many vendors out there, Axon products aren t part of some project that drains funds and won t ever be completed. They re available today and in use by courts, law enforcement, military, and private forensic practitioners world wide. Single Solution: Does not require additional plug-ins or third-party software Powerful: Offers specialized features like photogrammetry, pixel precision, perspective correction, object tracking, etc. Portable: Works on a laptop in the field as smoothly as on a desktop in the lab Real-Time: Enhances live feeds (from pole cameras, drones, etc.) as easily as recorded evidence Accredited: Is included in the approved programs listings of multiple courthouses To find out more or to request a demo, contact your Axon salesperson today. Note: the italicized text comes from Mark Stevens, LtCol USMC (Ret), Assistant Professor of Criminology, California State University Fresno, and his course on using multimedia evidence in trial. Photoshop Copyright 2016 Adobe Systems Incorporated