Anatomy of an expert question, the stages of Brazilian civil procedure (CPC) for submitting it and questions by type of digital evidence, with half the time spent in practice.
A generic question produces a generic answer. A question that asks for a legal judgement comes back with no useful answer, because the expert may not go beyond the technical examination (CPC, the Brazilian Code of Civil Procedure, art. 473, § 2º). And a question that is too broad brings into the case file material the lawyer never read.
The report answers exactly what was asked. That is why the question is the work. In this workshop, led by Adriano Vallim, Forensic Expert and Digital Crime Specialist, half the time is practice: participants rewrite poor questions and build the set for a case, which another group checks as if it were the expert.
The bank of questions provided is a starting point. The question that goes into the case file comes from examining the evidence.
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In a fraud involving system intrusion, the access came from a few IP addresses, each shared by thousands of mobile lines. Without the source port, which the company did not keep, the inquiry reached hundreds of suspects instead of one author.
A contract signed on a platform, with a completion certificate in order, was denied by the signatory. The audit trail showed that the signature came from a device he had never used.
A shopkeeper disputed a contract proven by a recorded phone call. Speaker comparison showed that the voice was not his and found similarity with the voice of an employee who took part in the call.
In an employment claim, the company asks the expert for all messages between the claimant and his superiors. The report brings in messages from a manager the company did not know about, and they reinforce the claimant's case.
In groups, participants draw one of three scenarios (illustrative examples): a WhatsApp conversation in an employment claim, a paid bank payment slip that the supplier says it never sent, and unauthorised access with logs and IP addresses. In 25 minutes, each group drafts 8 to 10 questions; another group plays the expert and checks each one against the checklist.
Laws and rulings discussed
CPC, art. 465, § 1º, III (Brazilian Code of Civil Procedure) · CPC, arts. 469 and 470 · CPC, art. 473, IV and § 2º · CPC, art. 477, § 2º to § 4º · CPP, art. 159, § 3º and § 5º, I (Brazilian Code of Criminal Procedure) · Law 14,063/2020, art. 4º · STJ (Brazilian Superior Court of Justice), REsp 1,777,769/SP, 3rd Panel, decided 5 November 2019, Case Law Bulletin 660 · STJ, news release of 28 May 2025 on REsp 2,170,872
See also
Judicial and Extrajudicial Expert Work → Digital Authorship and Subscriber Data Disclosure → Forensic Services in Litigation and Arbitration → For Lawyers → See all courses →