Rules of (Digital) Evidence and Prosecution's Actual Needs. When the Law Falls Behind Technology

This paper analyses the evolution of the methods applied by the Italian Public Prosecution Service and Law Enforcement community to the digital investigations. Starting from the early criminal trials, back in 1994, the paper shows how specific investigative trends have been anticipated by the "field necessity", and how the inability of the law to keep the pace with the rapidly-changing scenario led to mistrials and bad decisions that, to "save" a single trial, affected the legal system as a whole and the right to defense.