The Ask:
One of our law firm clients, McMillan and Sobel, asked us to help with discovery in a case related to child custody. The father wanted the child to remain with him post-divorce, as the child’s school was 10 minutes from his place of residence. The mother’s home was 45 minutes from the child’s school and it did not seem reasonable for the child to have that much additional travel time each day.
Seems like an easy choice, correct? Actually, the mother knew that the father was never home and frequently traveling. The child was actually at the father’s parent’s home most of the time. This location was 45 minutes away from the school, as well.
Knowtion’s Response:
There were many challenges to this case, as a minor was involved. It was learned that ths child had a mobile phone with the Android operating system. By default, the phone tracked all location data, in 6-minute intervals.
Compiling 6 months of location data from the minor’s phone, with maternal permission, Knowtion was able to put together a detailed scatter plot diagram detailing locations, times, and frequency of the child’s whereabouts during school days.
The Results:
It was determined that the child spent 80% of school days associated with the paternal visits at the in-laws homes — 45 minutes away from school. Additionally, it was also determined that the child was taken out of the country for a trip that the mother did not approve.
When presented at pre-trial, the father and his attorney were nearly speechless, and the settlement was quickly reached in favor of the mother retaining custody.
Count on us to provide experienced and impartial collection, analysis and interpretation of electronic data related to your next court case or trial.