United States v. Safavian
United States District Court for the District of Columbia
435 F. Supp. 2d 36 (D.D.C. 2006)
Relevant factsFree
David Safavian (defendant) was charged with obstruction of justice in the investigation of lobbyist Jack Abramoff, and the prosecution sought to introduce roughly 260 emails to or from Safavian, many containing identifying email addresses or names in the body, though some came from addresses that did not obviously identify the sender or recipient. Safavian objected that the emails could not be properly authenticated.
IssueFree
Whether emails, including some sent from addresses that do not obviously identify the sender or recipient by name, may be authenticated under the same evidentiary methods used for traditional paper documents.