Improvements In Trial Technology

FindLaw

By Eric Sinrod

My weekly column has been silent the past several weeks because I am in the middle of a six-week jury trial. I surface briefly now to offer some comments on trials in the new tech age.

When I first started trying cases more years ago than I would like to admit, displaying exhibits and demonstrative materials for the court and jurors was cumbersome, at times unwieldy, and once in a while ineffective.

A great achievement back then was blowing a document up onto a large poster board and parading it around the courtroom.

While that was somewhat helpful back then, jurors in particular still would have a difficult time reading the words on the page.

Fast forward to 2008.

Now, with technological tools, once a document is entered into evidence, its scanned image can be displayed from a projector onto a large screen. Using a laser pointer, text of importance can be highlighted, and then it can be blown out and enlarged so that particular language in a document can be given greater consideration or emphasis.

All of this is of great value to jurors and judges, so that they can follow along better, understanding testimony relating to documents contemporaneously, instead of reviewing documents in the jury room during deliberations long after the provision of the testimony.

For this trial lawyer, I suppose there are some advantages to growing older, and one of them is improved trial technology in the courtroom.

Now, back to trial . . . .

Eric Sinrod is a partner in the San Francisco office of Duane Morris LLP (http://www.duanemorris.com) where he focuses on litigation matters of various types, including information technology and intellectual property disputes. His Web site is http://www.sinrodlaw.com and he can be reached at ejsinrod@duanemorris.com. To receive a weekly email link to Mr. Sinrod's columns, please send an email to him with Subscribe in the Subject line.

This column is prepared and published for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. The views expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the author's law firm or its individual partners.

Software