Liljana Selinšek was awarded the academic title of Doctor of Juridical Science at the Faculty of Law, University of Maribor, in 2002. She, thereafter, passed the state bar exam. Her entire academic and, later, business career was focused on criminal law, first while working as a teaching assistant, and later as an assistant professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Maribor. Upon leaving the academic sphere, she was, for a short while, employed as a consultant at the office of the Commissioner for Access to Public Information. On 1 January 2011, she was appointed the Deputy President of the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption. Her bibliography, which counts more than 150 titles, primarily consists of scientific and professional papers and other works in the wider area of criminal law and offenses.
What Lawyers Need to Know About Digital Evidence
Digital evidence is, first and foremost, evidence just like any other, and therefore subject to the same basic rules that apply to all other types of evidence. However, it must be acknowledged that digital evidence is different in nature. Suspect's presence at the crime scene can be confirmed, for example, by DNA analysis or by finding his wallet and documents. Even though both of these types of evidence represent a valuable source of information, there are significant differences between them arising from the manner of their collection, storage, analysis and evaluation. Just as the DNA analysis represented the big unknown at the beginning of its development, so was the digital forensics cloaked in obscurity at the beginning of its era. But unlike DNA analysis, which relatively quickly become generally accepted and an indisputable means of evidence in criminal proceedings, the digital forensics still has a tough road ahead of it. It is much easier to understand the fact that the human body leaves biological traces, than the fact that the use of digital devices leaves digital traces. Blood, saliva and hair are every day and familiar terms, whereas the bit, the byte, metadata and algorithms are as far from familiar as it gets. The use of digital evidence in court proceedings therefore depends on the ability to understand the nature of such evidence, which requires specific knowledge of digital evidence and digital forensics, as a method or means of digital evidence collection, storage, analysis, and so forth. Understanding the nature and attributes of digital evidence, as well as the limitations of digital forensics, is not necessary only for the regularity of legal proceedings, but also for the successful cooperation between legal professionals (judges, investigators, state prosecutors, lawyers) and forensic experts. It is therefore imperative that legal professionals acquire certain knowledge of digital evidence and forensics. The speaker will, in the lecture, focus on individuals working in the broader sphere of criminal justice and present basic topics that are important for the proper use of digital forensic results in pre-trial and criminal proceedings.