MySpace Evidence: Maryland Appeals Court Allows Circumstantial Authentication — Griffin v. Maryland

[Post by Venkat] Griffin v. Maryland, Case No. 1132 (Md. Ct. App.) (May 27, 2010) [pdf] Facts: Defendant Griffin was convicted of murder. The first trial ended in a mistrial. The underlying facts were that the defendant allegedly got into…

MySpace Profile Evidence Inadmissible to Show Defendant Committed ‘Gangster Style’ Robbery — U.S. v. Phaknikone

[Post by Venkat] U.S. v. Phaknikone, Case No. 09-10084 (11th Cir.) (May 10, 2010) Defendant Phaknikone was convicted of seven counts of armed robbery, carrying a firearm in relation to a crime of violence, and having possession of a firearm…

Yahoo! Chat Logs Admitted Over Defendant’s Objections Based on Eavesdropping Statute — People v. Nakai

[Post by Venkat] State v. Singh Nakai, 2010 Cal. App. LEXIS 446 (Cal. App.) (Div. 2) (April 2, 2010) Division two of the California Court of Appeals recently rejected a defendant’s argument that California’s eavesdropping statute precluded the admission of…