criminal-law internet international
Can arrival/departure stamps on an expired passport be used in court to prove someone wasn&#39;t in the country?
<p>Can arrival/departure stamps on an expired passport be used in court to prove someone wasn't in the country and is therefore innocent? </p>

<p>Hypothetical question: For example, if someone commits an Internet crime using your Wi-Fi connection, such as sexting or nudes, and you were actually out of the country on a vacation, and this is discovered 3 years later. Can you use the arrival and departure stamps on an expired passport to prove that you were not even in the country when that happened? </p>

<p>Of course they can, provided that the "finder of fact" accepts that the document is credible (for example, the prosecution might allege that the stamps are forged).</p>

<p>Note that it could be possible to use a device on your Wi-Fi network remotely, so proof that you were out of the country might not necessarily result in acquittal.</p>

<p>The fact that the passport is expired is not particularly relevant; it means only that it's no longer valid for travel.  As evidence, its value is unchanged: a stamp from a border officer is evidence that you crossed through that port of entry on the indicated date, whether that was one year ago or 50.</p>
