Recording and self-recording for Courts of Law. An expert witnessing approach
Published at www.cita.es/recording and www.miguelgallardo.es/recording.pdf
Forensic acoustic services in Madrid, Tel.: (+34) 902998352 miguel@cita.es
Old cassette tape recorders were frustrating and even counterproductive in many Courts of Law. Today, advanced voice recording can be legally used for many forensic purposes including witnesses, lawyers, public attorneys and judge relevant words in any trial for Appeal Courts. Obviously, blackmailing evidence is still the case in which a good audio can be the real difference, but false witnessing in Courts is also a serious problem in Spain and Spanish speaking countries.
Hardware and know-how are our priorities in forensic audio-video forensic projects and services. Just let us some prudent words for technical and legal approaches to forensic voice recording.
Since 1996 our company is providing advice in consultancy services, editing and expert witnessing forensic video and audio in Madrid. Many years ago, we have sold primitive www.cita.es/MP3 or GSM cellular phones with voice recording. Now we provide advanced and cheap state-of-the-art USB pen drives. But we are always open to any forensic innovation.
Legal conflicts are dual here. Forensic recordings and self-recordings are for legal issues, but there are also legal conflicts in many voice records. Nor lawyers neither judges have the last word in any voice recording rights conflict and moral problems upsurge from this kind of matter even in the lack of any law explicitly forbidding any voice recording.
Our experience has shown us that nobody must leave an open microphone in any sensitive place recording any conversation in which the people involved are not aware of voice recording. However, self-recording is a right even in most sensitive circumstances. For instance, anybody can record his own lawyer, his own doctor in medicine or any pubic official speaking directly with him. The key point is to take part in the conversation even when the microphone can be hidden to the rest of the speakers involved. Much the same can be said about phone tapping. One of the speakers involved must be liable to justify the legal recording. We are really proud to count on our team with honest lawyers, solicitors and barristers that will provide you with the best advice based on ethical rules. This will solve any ethical dilemma concerning voice recording (self-recording) anywhere.
Some of our best customers allow us to publish some real forensic expert witnessing reports on acoustic engineering, voice recognition and transcriptions, blackmail and false witnessing evidences involving financial activities or authority abuses. We are proud to help in extreme criminal cases, especially on Spanish political corruption and abroad doing our best for public accusations.
You can see a 2008 video in New Delhi, India, explaining some key points on audiovisual forensic approaches at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btIvCOnqGHE
Please do not hesitate to contact me for further information about our services and projects.
Your help and advice can be useful for our research and development at www.cita.es
Sincerely,
Miguel A. Gallardo, engineer, criminologist, bachelor of Philosophy, diplomate in International Studies. Detailed CV with references (in Spanish) at http://www.miguelgallardo.es/audio.pdf
www.twitter.com/miguelencita Tel.: (+34) 902998352 miguel@cita.es
Document published at www.cita.es/recording and www.miguelgallardo.es/recording.pdf
in Madrid, Spain, 12th October 2012.