Friday, August 3, 2012

Can Infrared Camera Evidence Be Used In Court

A wide variety of evidence is admissible in court.


Generally, the equipment with which the evidence is collected is irrelevant in determining whether it is admissible in a court of law. Other considerations, such as relevance, will primarily determine admissibility.


Relevance


As a general rule, all evidence that is relevant to the alleged misconduct or crime is admissible in a court of law. If the proposed evidence can aid in determining whether the alleged act has been conducted, it is admissible.


Equipment


There is almost no piece of technical equipment whose results are categorically inadmissible in a court. The polygraph is the only technical equipment whose results the law explicitly prohibits from being used in court.


Infrared Camera


As the law does not make specific mention of infrared cameras, the general rules of admissibility apply to infrared cameras. If the evidence collected by the equipment is relevant to the case, reliable and collected legally, it can be used in court.


Privacy


It is possible that the evidence collected by an infrared camera was obtained illegally, which would make it inadmissible in court. Illegally entering a residence to install an infrared camera, for example, would constitute invasion of privacy and disqualify the evidence. However, the same would be true if a voice recorder or conventional camera had been used in the same manner.


Subjective Determination


In the end, each legal case is different and only the judge can make a subjective determination as to whether a piece of evidence is admissible in his or her court.

Tags: admissible court, evidence collected, court Infrared, court Infrared Camera, determining whether, equipment whose, equipment whose results