2007-04-21 Photoshopping the Evidence

A Bankrate.com article appearing today on msn.com http://realestate.msn.com/selling/Article_bankrate.aspx?cp-documentid=4697254&GT1=9323 poses the question: When does "photoshopping out" that tanning factory refuse pool abutting your gazebo cross the line between unethical and illegal?

While the article seems to argue a sliding scale, e.g., "greener grass" vs a foundation crack, one can make two observations pertinent to emerging authentication issues for computer-generated information offered into evidence:

The first is that digital data manipulation is becoming more pervasive. Much more pervasive.The second is that, as an attorney, any undisclosed alteration to a photo upon which I rely to my economic or other detriment (such as health, perhaps?) may well be actionable.

The attorney analyzing this makes appropriately conditional statements.

n.b.: I am not disregarding the duty of a buyer to physically inspect premises, but in instances where photographic evidence is the only proof of something, the "trend" may not be your "friend".