Trial Presentation Blog

More times then we'd like to admit we receive a video or audio tape at the Video Resources forensics department that is practically unviewable or unintelligible and we're asked to "clean it up", you know, like they do on the "CSI" television shows.

Unfortunately, since most, if not all of what is seen on "CSI", "Las Vegas" and "Crossing Jordan" is techno-BS we have to inform the customer that we can only do so much - basic laws of physics govern our services rather than imagined, non-existent, special effects.

That's not to say that we can't improve on the evidence, but, alas, we cannot work miracles.

For those cases that we can help with we generally advise on the best method to present the media - possibly a self-amplifed audio system to fill the room with clear sound, for instance.

So it was refreshing to read a post by Judge Christina Habbas of Colorado entitled "Don't Be Tempted To Use Technology Unless It Makes Your Presentation Clear" wherein Judge Habbas advises:

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Everybody knows what a PowerPoint presentation is - right? Both of my daughters were taught the basics of presenting in PowerPoint in 6th grade and were required to use it for science and history projects in high school.

The fact is, I'd say it's safe to assume that almost everyone has seen at least one PowerPoint presentation - former Vice-President Al Gore re-emereged into the public consciousness with his award winning documentary "An Inconvenient Truth"  which is really only a PowerPoint presentation on film.

Now, let's assume you've become quite comfortable with PowerPoint and it's your first line of presentation in your practice.

So...what's the problem?

Consider your audience...

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Presenting your message effectively in court is any litigators ultimate goal whether your presentation is in front of a jury or only in the presence of a judge. With the technology today it is easy to become sidetracked by the medium presenting your message.

My advice to our clients is "Less is More"; although we can provide the audio and visual tools to promote your argument it isn't always necessary to overwhelm the court with a production worthy of MTV.

I was recently reminded of this at a seminar presented by Lorman Education Services entitled "Litigation Skills for Legal Staff". One of the attorneys presenting was Michael A. Geibelson, a partner at the Los Angeles offices of Robins,Kaplan,Miller & Ciresi L.L.P.  

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In the past few years you couldn't of helped but notice that things are changing in the courtroom. In 1996   the public got a glimpse of a (then) state-of -the-art courtroom presentation of the nationally televised trial of  OJ Simpson.  As I recall the only visuals provided were crime scene photos, a few timeoline graphs and several DNA-related drawings. Laptops were at the disposal of the attorneys and Barry Scheck made the most of an overhead projector.

More and more often in todays court an average jury will be made up of a majority of people who are visual learners. That is, they will want, at a deep psychological level, to have information presented to them visually. The majority of the public are quite comfortable getting their information via a "talking head" or through a demonstrative exhibit. 

Most jury psychologists, including Amy Singer, believe that people learn much more through seeing and hearing rather than from hearing alone.  The use of demonstrative evidence usually grabs the jury's attention and often has them sitting at the edge of their seats when things like models and objects are being shown.

Unfortunately, most litigators are auditory learners who prefer to teach orally.

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