What questions does a judge ask an expert about blockchain evidence, and how do I prepare for them?

What questions does a judge ask about blockchain evidence?

You have an expert report on crypto transactions in the bundle and the hearing is coming up. The other side disputes the conclusions, or the court wants to hear from the expert. Then you want to know which questions are coming and whether the report answers them.

In practice the same kinds of questions come up every time. A judge rarely tests the technology. The court wants to know whether the step from data to conclusion can be followed.

• Source: where does the data come from?
• Method: could another expert repeat it?
• Attribution: why does this address belong to this party?
• Completeness: what was and was not examined?
• Alternatives: are there other explanations?
• Limits: what can the report not establish?
• Independence: who is the expert working for?

Spot a question your report does not answer clearly? That need not be a problem, but it is good to know before the hearing. The role of a report in proceedings is explained under expert report for court.

Why does everything start with the method?

The method section shows whether the conclusions can be checked. Without a checkable method, no finding carries weight. The judge, the other side and any opposing expert therefore all start in the same place. That persuasive force is called evidential value, and it starts with the method.

Paucitas does all tracing itself, without tracing tools, based on public blockchain data. Every transaction is checked one by one before it goes into a report. Asked how a conclusion was reached, the expert can point to transactions anyone can look up for themselves.

In civil proceedings in England and Wales, Part 35 of the Civil Procedure Rules says it is the duty of experts to help the court on matters within their expertise, and an expert report must end with a declaration that the expert understands and has complied with that duty. A report that can be followed step by step makes that duty easier to meet.

Is a hearing coming up soon? Let Paucitas go through the report with you beforehand. Get in touch or call +31 20 244 5774.

How do you prepare the expert for the hearing?

Go through the questions together beforehand and, for each one, point to the section where the answer sits. An expert who recognises the question answers more briefly and more precisely. Also agree how the expert deals with a question outside the instructions. The honest answer is then that it was not examined, not an estimate on the spot.

An example from practice

At the hearing, counsel for the other side asked why a particular address had been attributed to his client. The expert had seen that question coming.

Within two minutes he pointed to the section, with the transactions the attribution rested on and the degree of certainty. The question was answered, and the hearing moved on to the substance.

Paucitas takes privacy very seriously and never shares personal details of clients. This is a composite example: names, amounts and details have been changed. The situation is one we see in practice.

What if the other side disputes the report?

With blockchain evidence, challenges often focus on the same points: an attribution resting on an assumption, a period that was not examined, or a network where the route stops. That does not mean the report is weak. It can be all the stronger if those points have already been named and weighed.

If the other side produces its own report, a second opinion can show where the reports differ. What a report must meet in advance is covered in blockchain report for court: the requirements.

What Paucitas does for you

Paucitas provides a report in which every expected question has an answer you can find, and goes through those questions with you beforehand. Besides the transactions, Paucitas also reads through all the relevant conversations, documents, emails and other communication in the case file, so you get a complete picture, with a timeline and where all the money went, step by step. For each finding, the transaction, the source and the degree of certainty are set out, in the language of the proceedings. The report is limited to factual observations and anyone can follow and understand it step by step.

Simcha Schrijver has delivered a course on cryptocurrency, blockchain and wallets for criminal defence lawyers, accredited by the Dutch Bar Association (NOvA). That experience with lawyers’ questions is built into the structure of the reports.

• Costs: every investigation is tailored. You receive a custom quote in advance that we go through together, with no surprises.
• Turnaround: from the same day to about two weeks, so ideally well before the hearing.

How we support solicitors, barristers and insolvency practitioners is on for lawyers and insolvency practitioners. Whether a report can be used as evidence is covered in is a report usable as evidence.

Sources: Ministry of Justice, Civil Procedure Rules Part 35; European Commission, cross-border access to electronic evidence.