Innocent or Guilty? In a courtroom, it is a lawyer’s burden to prove one way or another to a judge or jury. In the media’s eyes, the world of law is quite familiar with these two simple words; however when actually placed on a case, these two words are anything but simple. In many cases it takes several months to prove in favor of a specific side. While the final verdict may seem simple, many lawyers would argue that getting to the verdict is a process that requires, time, enormous amounts of research and preparation to achieve their ultimate goal. And while trial law is broken up into numerous disciplines, there are many common methods most lawyers share. Overall, these skills include analyzing, synthesizing and advocating information to the jury.

Mark Fong, Senior Counsel, Minami Tamaki LLP in San Francisco, CA agrees that there is often an abundant amount of work and detail that is put into every trial; many of which the average person would not come to think about. It is a lawyer’s job to present the information in order to allow the jury to make a logical, unbiased decision. But with so many details, how is it possible to illustrate everything to the jury in a way they can understand? Fong believes that a large contribution to delivering information to the jury is due to technology in the courtroom. Most often, lawyers rely on digital data such as spreadsheets and images, or by holding up physical evidence. However, document cameras and visual presenters are fast becoming a clear and effective method for displaying real physical evidence on a large flat panel monitor/TV or multimedia projector.

Since Fong’s practice is devoted to civil litigation, with an emphasis on personal injuries, he states that, “visual technologies are an essential part of what I do, which is geared toward courtroom/trial work”. When trying to persuade a jury in a particular direction, it is necessary to present critical information in a way that it can be seen accurately. Prior to obtaining his own visual presenter, Mark typically used other forms of display technology such as overhead projectors, document cameras provided by the court, and others. These other technologies tended to be limiting as they required him to create expensive blowups of photos, diagrams, drawings, charts, X-rays and other physical evidence, which took additional more time and money. Furthermore, while many courtrooms have visual presenters available to use, not being familiar with the model, or deficient quality can be counter productive.

Because of this, Mark obtained an AVerVision SPC300 portable visual presenter from AVerMedia in 2008. Having his own visual presenter allowed Mark to become familiar with all of the features and functions, as well as rehearse the applications and evidence display ahead of time. The portability allows Mark to bring the visual presenter to any trial, not having to rely on unfamiliar or unreliable products. Product clarity is essential when displaying physical evidence, and the 3.2 mega pixel camera with 48X zoom enables Mark to clearly and accurately display physical evidence. The SPC300 also reduces prep time as it reduces the need to make enlarged versions of documents and photos.

Once Fong started using the SPC300, he realized that is something he could effectively use for every trial, and it is now considered standard equipment for his litigation. In fact, Fong states, “enlargement of documents is the most common and frequent use of the document camera, and might happen more than 20 times a day or more during trial.” In detail, Fong most often uses his document camera to digitally enlarge photographs, medical records, X-rays/medical imaging results, models/3D objects, deposition testimony, and more. Without the SPC300, Fong would be required to invest additional time and money to physically enlarge physical evidence. By providing large, clear, real-time displays of the evidence, jury understanding and retention are greatly increased.

During a recent medical malpractice case, Mark had an abundance of medical records, X-rays, and relevant material. Instead of holding evidence up for the jury to view or make enlarged copies, Mark was able to simply place it under the SPC300 to show a live, full view of the material. An added light box enabled the display of X-rays, while the zoom and pan feature allowed Mark to zoom and focus on specific details of interest. The ability to clearly display large examples of evidence increased levels on understanding and interpretation. Since the SPC300 also includes intuitive software, the document camera can be connected to a computer simultaneously to capture images, record video, and even annotate directly on the live image. This offers additional display methods where a lawyer can highlight, circle, or write text on the live image.

Digital visual technology is becoming increasingly useful for a variety of presentation applications, and has become a virtual necessity in areas such as trial law. Fong agrees that using his document camera in the courtroom allows jurors to clearly see the physical evidence in a large, detailed format. “Zooming in on medical records, X-rays and other material allows each member of the court to see specific details that they may not have seen otherwise.” When your job is to prove something one way or another, any piece of physical evidence that can be displayed clearly on a large screen is not only beneficial, but can help determine the future of a case.