Government Video Magazine
2/20/1998

High-Tech Courtrooms Make For Speedier Trials
By Karen Anderson

Court trials are glammed up in Hollywood films and weekly dramas played out on TV. Charismatic lawyers work the courtroom with engaging clients, surprise witnesses, and twists of fate.

But reality isn't quite as much fun-12 fidgety people, who'd rather be anywhere but sitting in a hot, stuffy box in a courtroom holding a stranger's fate in their hands, are stuck for the duration.

And of course there's the defendant who's guaranteed a swift and speedy trial. But with an overburdened judicial system, reality, again, is a different story.

Well, thanks to new technologies making their way into the courtroom, we may see a drastic turn around. With the use of computers and advanced visual evidence displays designed to create smoother-going trails with more meaningful evidence. This will allow courts to try more cases, freeing up the congested judicial system. This could make life much easier for all involved, says Kevin Sandler, president of ExhibitOne, a company specializing in the integration of technology in the courtroom.

An Exploding Market

According to Sandler, high-tech courtrooms are becoming quite popular today throughout the country. In fact, ExhibitOne, a young offspring of inData, of Gilbert, Arizona, was conceived out of the overwhelming demand for courtroom integration. "This is an exploding market," he explains. "The technology has gotten to the point where it's not that expensive."

Technologically advanced courtroom systems, like Exhibit One's Access Point courtroom system, are designed to allow attorneys to display documents, photographs, and other evidence in a more gripping and systematic method. Monitors, presentation equipment, and document cameras are just some of the tools found in the typical advanced courtroom system.

Going To Kansas City

Jefferson County Circuit Court, in Kansas City, Missouri, recently installed the Access Point system to help increase the number of cases that can go through the court.

To date, the Kansas City system has been used mainly for large medical malpractice or product liability cases where there is a large amount of complicated evidence.

"We've used the equipment in several of those cases and the attorneys really like it," says Ed Papps, director of computer services. He predicts that in the future they may expand the system into other types of cases.

At a quick glance, the Jefferson County courtroom looks like any other courtroom, with heavy wood fixtures and the omnipresent Seal of The United States. What makes this courtroom different, however, is the addition of high-tech gear. It is furnished with high-resolution video monitors strategically located throughout the courtroom, so everyone involved in the case has a close-up view of the evidence.

For consistency throughout the trial, all monitors display the same image at the same time. The jury views evidence on a large 37-inch Mitsubishi Megaview monitor, while the judge view the evidence from a personal monitor, built into the desk, so it does not obstruct his or her view. Others involved with the case view the evidence on monitors stationed at the witness stand, the stenographer's desk, and at each counsel desk.

In addition to the monitors, the counsel desks are well equipped with presentation gear and a Boeckler Pointmaker which allows the counsel to highlight specific evidence areas with color annotations and arrow pointers. These annotations appear on screen without altering the evidence. Attorneys also have easy access to the outside world via e-mail by hooking up a laptop computer to a phone line.

If they prefer, the attorneys may also make presentations from a lectern. It houses an Elmo Visual Presenter which sends images to the video monitors. Attorneys may present 3-D objects, such as a weapon, or flat objects, like a document, on the visual presenter. The podium is also equipped with an S-VHS VCR for video presentations and a I 0-inch EMAX monitor.

King Of The Court

But this system does more than just accommodate the attorneys. It allows the judge to remain the king of the court; if the judge doesn't approve it, then it doesn't appear on screen. The judge controls what is shown on the monitors via a touchscreen interface.

"If at any time an attorney is presenting something that he doesn’t like, he can turn the whole thing off and call a bench conference," Papps says.

Of course, witnesses are also key to many trials, and getting them to the courthouse may impose on their personal time or work schedule. A videoconferencing system, donated by Southwestern Bell, allows witnesses to testify from work or home without actually being at the courthouse.

The Intel ProShare PC-based videoconferencing allows witnessed to testify from work or home. If they don't have access to a videoconferencing system, they can go to their local Kinkos Copy Center, which are equipped with the ProShare System, according to Papps. This saves the witness from the time and hassle of traveling to Kansas City. It also saves the court a considerable amount of money.

"The motion is a little jerky, but in a courtroom proceeding it's not like a training thing where people walk back and forth. All we really do is look at talking heads, so in that environment that's all we really needed," Papps explains. "We will use that for expert witnesses. If we have a medical liability case, an attorney could contact a doctor at the Mayo clinic and he could testify."

Another important aspect of any high-tech court room is scalability. So inData has constructed a raised floor to run cables under the Kansas City courtroom. "We wanted to keep it as flexible as possible because the technology is changing all the time," Papps adds. "As new technology comes out, we can rewire it and re-cable it and do whatever we must accommodate new equipment."

Currently, ExhibitOne is looking at flat screen monitors as an alternative to traditional video monitors.

ExhibitOne systems range from about $40,000 to $50,000 depending on the scope of the project and the type of equipment installed. For this project the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association donated 50 percent of the fund, and the court put up 50 percent.