In the recent past, most trial attorneys have avoided the use of technologies in presenting documentary, video and demonstrative evidence in the courtroom or in front of an arbitrator. The practicalities, however, and the growing familiarity both by the courts and the public who are the recipients of the productions, as well as the attorneys who are the presenters, have advanced the applications into the commonplace. This is occurring not only in complex litigations where much is at stake, but even now in smaller matters where time and organization are at a premium.

Why waste an hour having a doctor or an engineer testify about some complicated fact when the information can be explained much faster, much more persuasively, and with greater chance of understanding by using a picture?

Why describe a document while jurors are searching their notebooks for the exhibit in question when, by instantly calling it up on a large monitor, you can zoom in on an important quote with everyone's attention riveted on the same spot?

Simply put, technologies allow information to be transmitted more efficiently, accessed in a pre-planned script or randomly, and use media which is instantly familiar and trustworthy to today's society. Dynamics in the courtroom can be recaptured, and significant facts more easily remembered when presentation technologies are employed.

Communication in the courtroom has quickly joined the 20th century, just in time to take a leading role in storytelling with persuasive tools in the 21st century. What are these techniques, and how are they typically used?

Computer-generated Charts & Graphs

Most spread sheet programs contain charting functions which allow the- user to plot numerical data into pie, line, column or other graphic comparisons. Powerful spread sheet programs, such as Microsoft Excel and Lotus 1-2 3, offer enhanced charting and flow-diagramming capabilities, and many more choices in formats as well as total flexibility in control over proportion, the number and placement of words in titles, footnotes and labels and many other creative opportunities.

Flow Diagrams

The interrelationship of methods, organizations and functions, when depicted in a graphic picture, reveals much about real life relationships that can be telling in a courtroom. It's hard to argue whether or not one knew another party when a simple diagram clearly depicts links. If these connecting lines between boxes can be supported by documentary evidence entered early, testimony from one party or merely assumptions made based on one side's trial theory, then the foundation rules have been satisfied and the diagram assumes a degree of tangibility in its own right. Once drawn, it is tough to erase the image from the mind of the finder of fact.

Chronologies and Timelines

A sequence of events, on the surface confused and unrelated, can tell a compelling story when linked in a step-by-step fashion. By including landmark events, interrelationships can be revealed which begin to explain the context, the logic or the motivations of a party. Utilizing computers to build, add to and revise chronologies allows the litigator to build an exhibit as the trial theory develops, and to break off additional chronologies to focus on sub points.

Scale Diagrams and Illustration

Computer drawn diagrams, whether scene diagrams drawn from survey calculations, scale objects created on a CAD (Computer Aided Design) program, or medical illustrations taken from a computer data base which allows the user to input actual dimensions of the injured party - all take on a high degree of accuracy in the minds of the lay person, especially when some foundation is laid early about the program and how it was utilized. Once this is done, it becomes more difficult to persuade jurors that the exhibit is anything but complete.

3D Models of Objects and Scenes

Many everyday objects which might play a role in a case, especially if the actual object has been damaged or destroyed are being shown inside a computer or as computer models put onto videotape. These include objects which have hidden inner workings or are too large or cumbersome to appear in a courtroom. When the proper expert has created the objects and can manipulate them in such a way as to peel away layers to reveal inner workings, or color code high stress areas, or depict engineering fixes which would have prevented a mishap, the computer model becomes more functional in telling a story or supporting an argument than the real thing.

Animated Demonstrations and Reconstructions

Any depiction which pretends to show an expert's opinion of a cause or effect must take into consideration all physical evidence which has been entered into evidence prior to the showing. An animation could be used in opening arguments, in many jurisdictions, if it has been shown to the other side, motions in limine have been successfully filed, and supporting evidence is to come in during expert's testimony in the case in chief. The courts realize the power of an active, dynamic presentation which contains movements which may be linked to engineering formulas, or which may only be artistic representations of movements, actions and interactions as described by one or more testifying witnesses.

Because of that awareness, dynamic presentations are only allowed to be shown a few times, sometimes without a descriptive "slow-motion" step by step portrayal. For that reason, key frames of any animation should be reproduced as a static easel exhibit for reference by witnesses throughout the trial, and to remind the viewers of the dynamic action they "witnessed".

Once again, modem programs, such as Macromind Director and Filmaker, have brought both the price and the availability of the format to within the reach of trial attorneys whose matter requires action to describe an event, but whose potential damages are low.

Naturally, reconstructions of events which can (and are) interpreted different ways and which are depicted by one side in an animated video become hotly contested, and therefore offer the most difficult foundation problems. Because these productions often require the skills of a specialist, it may not be enough to have the expert witness who supervised the creation of the sequence and who provided the materials, interpretations of evidence, theories and formulas upon which the animation is based. The animator may be called to testify, at least in a deposition, to shed further light on the way that the program works and how the information is used to drive the action. For many sponsoring attorneys, this can be another opportunity to provide a stronger foundation, allowing the judge to satisfy his or her own concerns about what is perceived as "new methods" and providing the jurors and the judge additional independent confirmation about the reliability of the exhibit.

Multi-media controls for presentation systems

Many different methods of storing and presenting exhibits are being used in the courtroom today. From simply playing a video tape of an event or a scene to incorporating that same footage onto a laserdisc or computer hard, the choices are both numerous and confusing. Each modality has advantages and disadvantages. In the above example, the simple video tape is inexpensive and simple to operate. However, if you want to replay the same sequence or a part of a sequence, you must first rewind the tape and relocate the starting point of the segment desired. Digitizing video to a laserdisc or a hard drive requires specialized equipment, but those firms who are utilizing the methods regularly find the benefits outweigh the cost. By converting to a computer-controlled format, the ability to pause on a still frame, all day if required, to find and refind chosen segments in seconds, and to include documents, charts, diagrams and other visuals with the videos provides ultimately more control and a more effective and efficient presentation.

Bar-code access

There are also many different methods for finding and displaying exhibits in court, once they are incorporated into a courtroom presentation system, but, by far, the most popular is bar code access. This method is also the least intrusive on a presenting attorney's style, and can be mastered in a few moments. Unlike touch screen presentations, or multi-media productions which require the presenter to "navigate" through a series of windows by touching buttons on a monitor or using the mouse to "click on" various active components to go from one screen to another, the attorney used to having his or her three ring binder of master exhibits at the podium is reminded when paging to an exhibit which displays a little series of lines - the bar code - that this exhibit is ready and waiting to appear on the courtroom monitors within seconds if the attorney will simply strike that bar code with the reader device.

Document imaging and presentation systems

In complex litigations requiring access to thousands, even hundreds of thousand of pages of documentary evidence, an imaging system is usually employed to manage and present those documents in court. The procedure is simple, and the resulting ability to more easily discover key exhibits is a critical benefit to using one of these systems.

As papers are brought into the case, they are "Imaged" - essentially scanned into a database which contains searchable records of the entire universe of documents germane to the case. The document is then linked to both an image of the exhibit and key words, phrases, witnesses or categories.

As the database is built, all files in the system can begin to be accessed - that is can be searched, sorted, read, viewed, "bookmarked", highlighted - all electronically in a "paperless" environment. Documents you think you remember as important to a new issue can be found in seconds, rather than having an army of document clerks and paralegals search through bookshelves, binders or boxes for a critical piece of paper only described in a fuzzy way.

Later, in court, the documents are accessed instantly, displayed in large form, highlighted, and linked to the best evidence - the original papers. While displayed, phrases or paragraphs can be zoomed in on for a more readable view.

Video depo clips

By utilizing digital video, depositions are more likely to be taped and used later for rebuttal, cross examination or replay later in court. The digital format allows better still frames, access of a chosen segment within seconds, instant replay and the ability to display described exhibits while still watching a testifying witness on the same monitor.

Reading of transcribed depositions is rarely lively or memorable. While live presentations by witnesses are clearly preferable, in many cases, preservation of the demeanor, body language, voice and pauses can provide much more about the testimony than a written record. Further, if the story is changed in subtle ways in trial testimony from depositions recorded months, even years earlier, the rebuttal dynamics of a video display can be extremely powerful. How can one deny, or try to change the context of damaging testimony given earlier when the finders of fact can see both the live testimony and the pre-recorded version, and decide for themselves which is the untruth.

Virtual Reality

In many types of litigation, replacing the view of a scene or a landscape is handled in traditional ways; that is, one might introduce a photograph or a series of pictures or, if available, a videotape might be offered to add a dynamic presence.

Aside from the obvious "slice of time" objections to a photo, the problem with using still photographs in court is that they never show quite enough. Cropping, either at the time of the photograph or when printing a glossy, always seems to leave something out. One is always left wondering about what isn't depicted, what is just out of view.

Collecting video at a scene also has some built-in limitations. From the moment the videographer pans across the view and then zooms in on an item you have indicated is important, you are stuck with that sequence in perpetuity. To review the scene, you will relive the linear movement across the screen followed by the zoom enhancement, over and over. If you pause on an important frame, the playback equipment will either produce a fuzzy picture, or only allow you a short opportunity to study the image before it shuts off the video.

A new exhibit strategy has recently made appearances in court which seems to solve these problems. It is based on the technology developed by Apple Computer, called QuickTime VR, for Virtual Reality.

The "virtual reality" aspect of the application is both disconcerting and accurate. The viewers of the exhibit look at the scene on a very large monitor. The "scene" is actually just a portion of the whole panorama. The panorama, a seamless integration of 12 photographs taken at 30*#176; intervals from a single point at a real site, is converted to a "virtual view" when played back through a computer. The photographs are not only blended into a long series, the resulting panorama is essentially rolled into a cylinder and "wrapped" around the viewers head, existing in what is known as "virtual space". What is portrayed on the monitor is merely a view in one direction or another. The operator can navigate around the scene by "mousing" - pointing a mouse or trackball cursor and holding down the clicker. By using a specified key, zooms can be enabled.

In essence, the operator of the view can, in the courtroom, look around the scene, zoom in or out on portions interesting at the moment, look up or down to a degree, or leave the picture up all day. He or she can therefore access the aspects of the scene interesting at the moment.

Further, in the digital format, the selected viewpoint can be left on the screen as long as necessary, for a witness to describe the location and physical aspects important to the case. The image is high resolution, so it can be seen as clearly as any easel mounted photograph, and subsequently offers much greater detail than a video frame.

The virtual reality exhibit is created using standard technology. The photographs are taken on a commercially available mounting bracket which features a rotating mount with click-stops every 30 degrees. A standard 35 mm camera is mounted to the device in the portrait position (vertical), using a wide angle lens to allow for views up and down. Light meter readings are taken to balance the exposure, and the photo series are exposed. The film is normally processed, resulting in a film negative which will help establish foundation for the exhibit, and the negatives are "printed" to a Kodak Photo CD. This process converts all of the pictures to a digital format without having to scan each one.

The photo CD plate is then placed in a computer, Apple's QuickTime VR (QT VR) Authoring Suite software is loaded, and in the script, a pathway is described to the location of the photograph series. The software looks at each picture, analyzes the overlaps for similarities and differences, and then "stitches" the image together, eliminating the seams and equalizing the colors.

The resulting exhibit can be played immediately, to proof the image, or it can be transferred to a Windows-based computer, or added to a PowerPoint presentation, or offered over the Web on the INTERNET. The file size is surprisingly small - while the panorama can be 11 megabytes or more, the QT VR in high resolution takes up only 500 kilobytes, or about the space of 1/3 of a 1.44 "floppy" disc.

In conclusion

Media has quickly adapted to presentation styles of attorneys nationwide. Pressing dockets and the desire of most judges to move quickly through evidence provides opportunity to cut out time-consuming access problems, fumbling with enlargements and easels, rattling papers, rewinding videotapes. As a result, rather than not using those media because of inconvenience, the media are being shown and use to their most persuasive effects by litigators without limiting their personal style or time honored techniques. The media is not the message. But the additive effects are assuring understanding of the key elements of a case, and consequently persuading courts across the land in a more efficient and effective manner.