The incredibly successful NBC television program Law & Order is based on the two-part structure:

In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups. The police who investigate crime and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders. These are their stories.

There is a real-life crime drama being played out in New Jersey in which the Web has played a role in the investigation of the crime and in the prosecution of the offender.

When it came to the investigation of the murder of William McGuire, the online activities of Melanie McGuire became a key part of the investigation:

At exactly 5:45:34 on April 18, 2004 a computer taken from the office of the attorney of Melanie McGuire, did a search on the words "How To Commit Murder."

That same day searches on Google and MSN search engines, were conducted on such topics as `instant poisons,` `undetectable poisons,' 'fatal digoxin doses,' and gun laws in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Ten days later, according to allegations by the state of New Jersey, McGuire murdered her husband, William T. McGuire, at their Woodbridge apartment, using a gun obtained in Pennsylvania, one day after obtaining a prescription for a sedative known as the "date rape" drug.

Jennifer Seymour, who worked for the State Police digital technology unit, testified this morning how she examined the digital contents of computers and hand held devices obtained as part of the investigation.

Her testimony was the strongest evidence yet in the state's circumstantial evidence case against the 34-year-old McGuire, who allegedly murdered her husband with a .38 caliber weapon, dismembered his body and placed body parts in three suitcases found in the Chesapeake Bay in May of 2004.

Call it "search engine forensics".

Indeed, McGuire's computer activities are more damning:

The murder took place the same day, according to allegations by the state, that a two-ounce prescription of chloral hydrate was purchased at a Walgreen's in Edison.

A search on April 26, 2004 of the computer seized by the state found that the user accessed the site www.walgreens.com/storelocator.

On Monday Yan Kim Lee, a pharmacist at the Walgreen's on New Durham Road in Edison, testified that on the morning of April 28 she filled a prescription for chloral hydrate for a woman named Tiffany Bain, on script signed by Dr. Bradley Miller of Reproductive Medicine Associates in Morristown.

Melanie McGuire worked at the RMA office as a nurse, and at the time of her husband's death she was having an affair with Miller.

Lee testified that she typically fills only about three or four prescriptions annually for chloral hydrate.

Melanie McGuire is fighting the charges. Part of the fight is taking place on the Web as well. Our defendent has her own website, MelanieMcGuire.com:

WHAT’S THIS SITE ALL ABOUT?

It’s common to hear people say… ’You never really know someone…’ or ‘she was so put together, I never would have guessed there was anything wrong.’ People find it extremely difficult to reconcile the notion of the Melanie they know and respect and love with the notion of the accused killer that the prosecution portrays. Over and over again, people say things like, ‘I just don’t see it’, or ‘this makes no sense.’ And they are correct.

Melanie is innocent of the crimes she is accused of committing. This website is here to provide some background information on Melanie, and to keep her many avid supporters apprised of the court case and the situation as it evolves. This site was created by friends of Melanie in response to the overwhelming number of inquiries into the case and into Melanie’s well-being during this incredibly trying time for her and her family.

It is also here so that the many individuals who are looking for a way to help Melanie through this overwhelmingly stressful time can do so through a contribution to the Friends of Melanie Legal Defense Fund.

The site provides a biography of McGuire's attorney, Joseph Tacopina:

Joseph Tacopina is described by The New York Times as the “Donald Trump” of New York’s defense bar. A former prosecutor, Tacopina has skillfully tried over 80 cases, winning nearly every one. Tacopina has used his courtroom expertise to successfully defend police officers, politicians, recording artists, and Fortune 500 executives, among others. Joseph Tacopina is founder of Law Offices of Joseph Tacopina, P.C, a Manhattan-based firm that focuses on criminal, civil, and securities litigation. Fluent in Italian, Tacopina has an international office based in Milan, Italy. According to the USA Today, Tacopina is one of a handful of elite powerhouse defense attorneys who have risen to the pinnacle of prominence, alongside Johnnie Cochran and most recently, Thomas Mesereau.

Because of his extensive litigation experience in both federal and state courts and his successes in some very high profile cases, Mr. Tacopina frequently appears as an expert legal analyst on various media outlets nationwide. He can regularly be seen on MSNBC, CNBC, NBC, ABC, Fox News, CNN, Court TV, and even occasionally takes his licks on “Imus in the Morning”.

Mr. Tacopina is a member of the Federal Bar Council, the New York Counsel of Defense Lawyers, and the Judicial Committee for the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. He also serves on the Legislative Committee for the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Board of Directors for the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Additionally, Mr. Tacopina volunteers his time as an adjunct professor at Fordham Law School and lectures nationwide on a variety of legal issues, including Medicaid fraud and trial advocacy. He was also recently honored by the Italian American Bar Association, and is the basis for the fictional attorney on the CBS show The Guardian.

Wow, what a guy! These people, friends of Melanie's, who set up the website must really be impressed with Joseph Tacopina. Who are these friends, anyway?

Domain Name.......... melaniemcguire.com
Creation Date........ 2006-01-17
Registration Date.... 2006-01-17
Expiry Date.......... 2008-01-17
Organisation Name.... Friends of Melanie McGuire Legal Defense Fund
Organisation Address. c/o The Law Offices of Joseph Tacopina
Organisation Address. 275 Madison Ave 35th Floor
Organisation Address. New York
Organisation Address. 10016
Organisation Address. NY
Organisation Address. UNITED STATES

Care of the offices of Joseph Tacopina. How convenient.

I remember when the cliche was of a lawyer standing in front of the cameras on the courtroom steps, saying loudly that this case would not be tried in the press, and then expounding in detail just how the prosecution was on a witch hunt.

I suppose we'll be hearing soon from defense lawyers on how the ability of their clients to get a fair trial is being undermined by the web, probably via a streaming video of those same lawyers available on their websites and their clients' websites.

In any case, this trial is shaping up to set new precedents about the validity of evidence collected from computers tracking online behaviour, and it will be interesting to see just how much weight a jury will give to that sort of evidence. That, in turn, is going to influence online giants like Google in making decisions about just what information to keep and what to erase, and when, and how to provide a service to their users who are now suspicious of the police tracking their every move.

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