Search Engines Take The Stand

Fifteen years after his trial, a convicted drug dealer in New York state belatedly got a chance to clear his name — thanks in part to an Internet search. In the United States and abroad, judges are turning to search engines such as Google to check facts, to look up information about companies embroiled in litigation, and to challenge statistics presented by attorneys in court. Dozens of judges have penned opinions describing Google as a valuable — and sometimes crucial — source of knowledge