Frank Luciano Blog

CRIMINAL LAW IN BERGEN AND PASSAIC COUNTIES:
"BLACK BOX" EVIDENCE IN A VEHICULAR HOMICIDE CASE

There are over 45 million vehicles in the United States that contain a hidden recording device known as  event-data recorders. These devices which are sometimes called "black boxes" not only "wake-up" the deployment of the vehicle's air bag in the event of an accident, they also record specific data at the time of the crash and prior to the crash. Pre-crash data may include the vehicle's speed, the engine's RPM, seatbelt use, braking applications, change in speed and steering corrections.

Obviously, information of this nature is of great importance in a vehicular homicide prosecution and other motor vehicle related crimes. Unfortunately, there are not many cases that address the issues associated with the admissibility of the black box in a civil or criminal trial. Here are a few comments and suggestions:

    1.     After you are engaged by a client, make immediate efforts to locate the black box. If the government has already retrieved the device, you should secure the data on the device as soon as possible and engage an expert to interpret it. Do not lose sight of the fact that the government's removal of a black box from your client's vehicle has fourth amendment implications.  

    2.    Always test the scientific reliability of a black box under the Daubert. While some jurisdictions have endorsed the devices' scientific reliability others have not.

    3.    Make sure that the government is able to qualify the data from the black box under an exception to the hearsay rule.

    4.    Finally, remember that black box evidence can be challenged because the data could have been corrupted by mishandling or exposure to electronic sources.  In addition, the technician who downloads the information may not be qualified.