My Options
Posted October 21st, 2008 by adminWhat are my options?
There are many options when presenting evidence in trial, from handing out sheets of paper, to large blowups, to complex animations and video that may take months of preparation. Through the next several articles we are going to take a closer look at each method and how to show digital documents to their best advantage.
First, I want to strike your first objection, “I don’t have the equipment!” In most cases you can do it yourself and all you need is your laptop, a projector, and a screen. Many courtrooms today are being renovated to accommodate digital presentations. If you are in one of these ever increasing number of courtrooms then all you need is your laptop. Just plug it in to the court system and you are ready to go. If, on the other hand, your courtroom doesn’t have a presentation system, ask if they have a screen that can be set up. Most courtrooms that do not have the full system will have a screen installed in the courtroom. If that option is a bust ask about the availability of a tech or multimedia department. This option will cost a little extra, however you can have the courthouse tech get everything set up and ready to go when you, or I should say the judge, is ready to start the trial. These are the best options if you do not want to bring in a service bureau to handle everything. Now that your equipment is set up we can move on to your presentation!
One of the most common myths that I encounter about digital presentations in court is that it is too complex and unwieldy. Many presentations can be effective even without the use of a presentation system. The simplest method of evidence presentation at trial is merely passing your paper exhibit to the witness and the judge. While this seems simple it can actually be complicated in that you must constantly direct the reader to the specific segments that you are interested in showing and try to prevent distraction by other segments of the exhibit. The evidence you are presenting was probably produced from a .pdf document on your computer. When presenting in court it can be far less complicated to just put your .pdf on the screen. You can then enlarge the file and scroll to the specific segment on which you want to the court to focus. This is both simple and effective. This method will work with any .pdf, Word doc, picture, or other file that you can open on your computer. Many attorneys have used this method with great success. There is no time required for learning a presentation system and if you prefer not to operate the computer yourself, an assistant can easily operate the computer for you.
Stay tuned as we cover more presentation methods.