High Court rules Kim Dotcom to see all prosecution evidence

Legally embattled owner of Megaupload, Kim Dotcom, has secured a minor victory in New Zealand, after the High Court backed up an earlier decision by Judge David Harvey, who stepped down earlier this year after making impartial comments relating to the case. Mr Dotcom and his legal team will be allowed to see all of the prosecution's evidence, in order to fully prepare themselves for the defence, when the hearing to decide whether Dotcom will be extradited to the US to face legal action, takes place in early 2013.

When Judge Harvey voluntarily stepped down, the prosecution requested a judicial review to try and repeal his decision – claiming that there was no reason for Mr Dotcom or his team to have access to the evidence against him. However, Justice Helen Winkelmann dismissed the application for review, saying that there was no way the defence could prepare properly without access to the evidence.

According to TorrentFreak, some of the disclosed information will include: All records that relate to covert investigations into Megaupload and its staff, all evidence related to copyright holders and infringement on Megaupload, as well as all correspondence between said copyright holders and Megaupload's staff.

Those last two points should be very interesting, as it will allow the defence to correlate complaints made to authorities, with those made directly to Megaupload.

KitGuru Says: The hints given today as to the evidence that will be made available to DotCom has excited supporters, as with the public nature of the trial, when it does come around it will be incredibly interesting to hear some of these details. DotCom has insisted from day one that he had been used as a scapegoat, perhaps we'll learn the truth when the extradition trial plays out.

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