A friend of mine was accused of changing the price tag on a item in a store. he was held by security in the store and the police issued a citation to appear in court. my friend says he didnt change the tag and they are saying they have it on tape. Is it possible for him to view the tape since it is technically evidence?
Can the defendant/suspect view the surveillance tape?
the tape will have to be turned over to the police to be evidence..then he will be able to veiw the tape
Can the defendant/suspect view the surveillance tape?
He has the right to discovery before the trial. He can get a copy of the tape to assist with his defense.
His attorney will be able to get all of the evidence in the case, including copies of any video evidence.
The accussed has a right to see his accusser and all evidence presented to him or his lawyer. It is usually presented in the discovery phase of the pretrial litigation. He would have to petition the prosecuter in order to view it or ask his accusser for a viewing. Secondly. No individual except for those specifically sanctioned by the governments of this country has a right to detain you. It is considered false imprisonment holding someone against their will. If the store refused to let him leave and he proves his innocence he can sue them for false imprisonment, defamation of character, and demand a formal public apology. If he really is guilty then he is screwed if it is on tape, but, video is not full proof. In most stores it is grainy at best and is considered contributory. Basically, if all they have is a viewing through a medium such as video then they usually need more than that. Check the time stamp on the video. Find out how many times that video had been dubbed since most stores reuse their survelliance video cassettes. Make sure that if his face isn't completely visible that it is called into doubt as to the true identity. Identifying clothes is not an a verifiable proof of ones identity even if you were caught wearing the same clothes. Look up how to beat a video taped evidence. Then, call into question the individual who surveyed the video in the first place and reported the incidence. They have to have all their facts exactly correct. If they get names wrong, times wrong, and then there is the chain of evidence. Was the tape unaccounted for a certain amount of time. You only have to create doubt as to the authenticity of the facts. has he visited this store before. Were there any altercations between him and the store and or a specific employee. Any thing that could be considered motive for a false accusation. Hope it helps.
