High-Tech Case, Low-Tech Judge

Law.com has this story about a trial in which counsel for both sides was eager to use high-tech exhibits and other trial technology, but the judge was not. High-Tech Case, Low-Tech Judge, Law Technology News, March 10, 2006.

The case was a suit against the City of New York, alleging that police had shaken a baby during the arrest of the child's father in the family's apartment.

The plaintiffs hired a graphics consultant, who created an animated timeline showing the movements of all the people in the apartment in real time. But the judge would not allow it to be shown during opening statements. Fortunately for the attorneys, the consultant had a back-up: a board with magnetic icons that could be moved around.

The defense also hired a consultant, who created a database of documents and transcripts, some of which the attorneys projected onto a large screen during the trial. The defense was unsuccessful, though, in its effort to use real-time transcripts to show where testimony differed from that in depositions.

Filed in: technology, exhibits, judges, consultants