Computer Forensics Docket Sheet

In a suit charging the defendant with knowing possession of child pornography, the Georgia Court of Appeals reversed the jury trial conviction based in large part on computer-forensic evidence. A computer-forensics analyst testified that computers automatically store information that users view on the Internet on their hard drives in temporary Internet cache files. The computer-forensics expert also explained that there's no way to determine whether the stored files were affirmatively sought after by the user or were pop-ups. A user also is not able to retrieve these files without special forensic software, which was not present on the defendant's computer. As knowing possession of child pornography requires proof of an affirmative step to save or download images to the computer and knowledge of their existence, the defendant did not have the required culpability to be held guilty of the crime. Barton v. State, 2007 WL 1775565 (Ga.App. June 21, 2007).

Court Reverses Conviction Where Defendant
Was Unaware Of Computer Cache Files

In a suit charging the defendant with knowing possession of child pornography, the Georgia Court of Appeals reversed the jury trial conviction based in large part on computer-forensic evidence. A computer-forensics analyst testified that computers automatically store information that users view on the Internet on their hard drives in temporary Internet cache files. The computer-forensics expert also explained that there's no way to determine whether the stored files were affirmatively sought after by the user or were pop-ups. A user also is not able to retrieve these files without special forensic software, which was not present on the defendant's computer. As knowing possession of child pornography requires proof of an affirmative step to save or download images to the computer and knowledge of their existence, the defendant did not have the required culpability to be held guilty of the crime. Barton v. State, 2007 WL 1775565 (Ga.App. June 21, 2007).