The Open Source Digital Forensics site is a reference on the use of open source software in digital investigations. As shown in the papers section, open source software may have legal benefits over closed source software.

• An investigator can learn and testify about what her open source forensic analysis tools did.
• An investigator can testify about the conditions that existed in the suspect's open source software for a piece of evidence to be generated (i.e. a log entry).

I do not claim that open source tools are superior to closed source tools. Both can have serious bugs and faults and produce errors. This site provides an easy reference for investigators who are interested in using open source analysis tools during an investigation.

Disclaimer: I (Brian Carrier) have written several pieces of open source forensic software, which are included in their respective sections.