Comprehension problems that jurors encounter with expert evidence in online child pornography trials

Abstract

ABSTRACT Over the last two decades, there has been a massive world-wide increase in the prosecution of charges of possessing online pornography. Digital expert evidence is relied upon in such prosecutions in order to satisfy the charge element of ‘possession’. Little is known about the effectiveness of such expert evidence in proving that the defendant’s computer contained such offensive material. This article provides a qualitative analysis of how effective such expert evidence is by analysing three illustrative contemporary Australian online pornography trials where the authors interviewed some of the jurors and other trial participants about their perceptions of the digital expert evidence. We found that jurors had difficulty with the way some experts presented information rather than the complexity of the information. Practical suggestions to improve digital expert evidence are discussed, including the need for more and better use of visual aids.