Electronic Discovery and Evidence

Integrated Search Engine

(4-23-04) IBM expands search push with Masala. "The computing giant, based in Armonk, N.Y., is gearing up to release Masala, a new version of its DB2 Information Integrator software that will let corporate employees retrieve information from databases, applications and the Web at the same time. Subsequent improvements will include a data-mining component code-named Criollo. . . Several large and small companies are devising technology to help people retrieve foreign-language documents, 3D and 2D drawings, old e-mails and other hard-to-find material from the nether regions of their hard drives."

Comment: With software advances of this nature court decisions based on the reasoning of Zubulake regarding electronic discovery and electronic evidence will have to be revisited.

Metadata in Drawing Programs

Visio 2003 makes the right moves . . . Visio has become the de facto standard for standard diagram drawings, especially network layouts and process flowcharting. . . . Objects within a Visio drawing can contain metadata located in custom fields describing the object in detail, but on a printed page or when viewed as a JPEG.

Google to Scan All E-mail

(4-17-04). Google to Consider E-mail Changes. "Google says it is "batting about" possible changes to its Gmail Web-based e-mail service, which launched last month to a chorus of privacy concerns. The search engine giant plans to offer Web surfers up to 1GB of storage for free, subsidized by advertising based on keywords scanned from messages and delivered over the service. Google's plans have drawn a sharp reaction from privacy advocates, who worry about potential abuses of a system that might allow the company to permanently store millions of e-mail messages and scan their content. On Monday, California state Sen. Liz Figueroa, a Democrat from Fremont, said she was drafting legislation that would prevent Google or any other company from examining the content of e-mail in order to serve up ads."

Comment: If any of your electronic discovery involves someone who uses Google e-mail, check to determine if Google has scanned and stored the e-mail.

Cameras Photograph All Drivers Entering Town

(4-15-04) Manalapan may install cameras to photograph everyone driving into town. "Manalapan — When this affluent island town, where two burglaries a year is the norm, was hit with a trio of heists in a just a few months, officials decided to put a stop to the crime wave by installing a surveillance system that eventually could track every person who drives into town. Cameras would record drivers' faces and license plates, and software could use the tag numbers to automatically check -- in just a few seconds -- whether a motorist is wanted by authorities or driving a stolen car, Police Chief Clay Walker said."

Comment: Another source of electronic discovery and electronic evidence.

Review - Electronic Discovery and Evidence

(4-1-04) REVIEWED BY CARL G. ROBERTS. "Electronic Evidence and Discovery succeeds in reaching both the technological novice who is confronting electronic discovery for the first time and the technological sophisticate who is looking for a good set of checklists, reminders and updates." For a complete review visit the ABA Law Parctice Management magazine Online.

Authenticating Driver Records Electronically

(4-8-04) Indiana Becomes First State to Offer Electronic Postmark Solution " The state of Indiana continues to lead the nation in its use of technology, thanks to a new service that allows government records to be digitally signed, legally certified, and delivered electronically by the state's official Web site at www.IN.gov. The Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles is using the United States Postal Service's Electronic Postmark to simplify the process of certifying driver records to be admitted as evidence in court proceedings. Indiana is the first state in the nation to offer the USPS Electronic Postmark service within the state court system. The new solution has already received national recognition by earning a 2004 Digital Government Award for the most innovative pilot or prototype service. The award was presented by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology last month in Washington, D.C."

Open Meeting Laws - Chat rooms and E-mail

(4-6-04) - "Council juggles law, technology. E-mail, chat rooms for use in meetings explored. . . The legal and technical challenges to starting a City Council chat room and recording the council's closed executive sessions are proving complex. . . . At times, officials found themselves in a legal gray area, such as when state law has not defined certain details about e-mail. "Technology has advanced faster than the law has," said City Attorney Bob Sterbank."

Comment: Sources of evidence will change as we transition into electronic discovery of information.

Enterprise E-Mail Storage Solution

(4-5-04) "Connected Delivers Email Archiving Solution To Meet Compliance And Legal Discovery Needs, While Lowering Infrastructure Costs"

Comment: Another example of business's approach to controlling e-mail for electronic discovery purposes.

Backup Tapes (Disks)

(4-3-04) New EMC disk storage mimics tape. "To help companies handle data backup and recovery tasks, storage specialist EMC plans next week to unveil a product that is based on disk drives but acts as a tape device. EMC is calling the new product a "disk library," according to sources close to the company. So-called tape libraries are robotic mechanisms that house a number of magnetic tape drives and cartridges. Sources said the new product would allow speedier data backups and restorations than are possible with tape and minimal complications in installation. EMC disk libraries appear to computer systems as tape libraries and are designed to be up and running within two hours, the sources said. "

Comment: One of the hot electronic discovery cost shifting arguments is the expense of accessing backup "tapes". This new device will allow for easier access to backup "tapes" thus precluding cost shifting.

Technological advancements have caused electronic discovery problems, technological advancements will solve those problems.

RFID Tags - Electronic Surveillance

(4-5-04) Watchdogs Push for RFID Laws (Security Blanket 2:00 a.m. PDT). "CHICAGO -- RFID is too powerful a technology and Wal-Mart and its suppliers are too cozy with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for the companies to be trusted with the data gathered from radio tags on consumer goods, say a civil rights lawyer and a privacy law expert. But the companies, led by Procter & Gamble, are opposing RFID legislation, and want consumers to allow them to keep RFID tags active after checkout, and to match shoppers' personal information with particular items."