Cell Phone Data: When Only the Data Knows

PROSECUTION 

Nowadays, it is more surprising to learn that someone does not have a cell phone than it is to find out that someone does have a cell phone. And while having a cell phone on you can be beneficial, sometimes it can also expose you and your activities. Let’s look at a theoretical case involving a hit-and-run accident. 

One day, Jane Doe was running late on her way to work and decided to borrow a friend’s car as her car needed maintenance. Jane came up to a light that was about to turn red, but instead of slowing down, she decided that she was going to try to beat the light although she likely wouldn’t make it through safely. Another car, that was obeying the traffic laws, did not see Jane Doe and started to enter the intersection when their light had turned green. As a result, Jane Doe clipped the front end of the other driver’s car. 

The other car spun around and was facing the other direction. Although Jane had hit the other car, she was able to maintain her direction of travel and drove away. Witnesses stayed on scene till the other driver and their passenger were later taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. With the help of the witnesses' descriptions, the police were able to identify Jane Doe as the responsible party in the hit-and-run case. 

A few days later when the police confronted Jane about the hit-and-run, she tried to claim that she wasn’t the one driving so she could not have been the responsible party. And since her personal car had no damage to it, she felt that confident that the police did not have enough to convict her. The police opted to secure a search warrant on Jane Doe’s cell phone to effectively determine the veracity of her alibi. 

The police contacted a digital forensic company to do an extraction and analysis of her phone to see if she was telling the truth about her whereabouts. After the company completed their extraction and analysis, they sent the data and report over to the department investigating the crime. It was determined by GPS location tracking used by many apps on her cell phone, that Jane Doe had lied about her whereabouts in relation to the hit-and-run. 

Thanks to the help of witnesses and digital forensics, law enforcement was able to determine the responsible party and bring them to justice. Without digital forensics, who knows if Jane Doe would have ever taken responsibility for the pain and suffering that she caused by her poor choices. When it comes to data, the truth always manages to expose itself. 

DEFENSE 

Cell phones are a very useful tool, empowering those who use them. While cell phones and the data they contain can be powerful, they can also be dangerous if used improperly. Let’s look at a theoretical case involving cell phones and vehicular manslaughter. 

John Doe works in a busy part of downtown Chicago, but due to his immune system not being as strong as it could be, he opts to take his personal vehicle over saving money and taking public transportation. One day when he had walked to grab some lunch, he heard sirens and a rumor that a pedestrian a few blocks away had gotten hit by a car and died as a result. By the time emergency services had arrived, the driver that hit the pedestrian was already gone. 

Although the rumor was shocking, John Doe did not think much of the incident and went about his day. A few days later, police showed up at John Doe’s work and confronted him about the accident. John Doe was compliant with the officers and explained that while he knew of the accident, he was in no way involved. Since John Doe and his car matched the descriptions given to police by witnesses, they took John Doe into custody. 

Knowing that he had nothing to do with the hit-and-run accident, John Doe contacted his lawyer immediately. Police stated that with the witness accounts and cell tower data collected on John Doe’s phone, there was enough evidence to place Mr. Doe at the scene of the crime. Not satisfied with the accuracy of the data, John Doe’s lawyer requested that there be a more thorough digital extraction done on his client’s phone to determine his actual location at the time of his alleged crime and sent it off to a digital forensic company. 

The digital forensic company completed a thorough extraction and analysis of the data contained on Mr. Doe’s cell phone. It was determined through GPS location tracking data that is used by many applications on his phone that Mr. Doe was already at his office at the time that the hit-and-run had occurred. Without digital forensics, John Doe would be serving time for a crime that he did not commit. Now, law enforcement can continue their efforts in finding the real culprit and bringing them to justice.