Digital Evidence Models
Digital Custody Chain
Digital custody can be modeled as collection, hash, transfer, lab, exhibit, and review steps. Honesty note: simplified US federal classroom model; Fourth Amendment doctrine and state rules vary; the pinned first step states the as-of date; not legal advice.
Digital evidence model honesty note
Honesty note: simplified US federal classroom model; Fourth Amendment doctrine and state rules vary; as of June 24, 2026; not legal advice; code encodes a process and label model, not the law itself.
Use a custody event chain
The stated process models digital custody as collection event, hash record, transfer event, lab record, exhibit label, and human review.
Example custody packet
The toy packet records collection, hash, transfer, lab, and exhibit labels before review.
The flow recomputes the chain
The procedure flow recomputes 6 nodes and 5 edges from the authored custody chain.
Diagram note
The diagram shows custody event order. It does not decide evidence treatment or chain completeness.
Jurisdiction: US; as of 2026-06-24; not legal advice; Code encodes a process and label model, not the law itself.
Summary
Digital-custody data should expose each transfer point and the review handoff without producing an evidence result.