More detail about this in later posts, but here's a great aid for people who like a little tech flexibility in the courtroom but don't want to search, rewind, apologize, fast forward, and generally make the jury feel sorry for you.
Any digital evidence can be cataloged and assigned a barcode. You get a notebook with all your possible bits of evidence --photos; video deposition clips; documents -- each bit with a barcode next to it.
When you're ready to project that bit, wave a little handheld scanner over the barcode and the bit is instantly projected/played back.
A good amount of preparation and some expense goes into this stage magic, but many litigators rely on it for maximum flexibility and instant recall.
It's another part of drawing a cognitive though-line for the jury to follow, without the distracting intrusions of fumbling for files.
Next, the recent revolution in randomly accessible video depositions.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Get comfortable with the playback, or else
You have a shot of the plaintiff suffering, trying to be stoic, but failing. It will make your case.
You set it up with some irresistible figurative speech. The jury is hungry to suffer with your client.
You push the button and some color bars and 1000hz tone hits the jury.
You look down and you see you're not wearing any pants and the courtroom is flooding with a kind of Croatian liqueur that smells like sweat.
You wake up, vowing never to eat Margie's hot fudge before bed again.
Do you also vow to practice with your media presentation?
You should be comfortable enough to do a stellar job if everything works and an adequate job if it doesn't.
Presenting media in a courtroom is not a genetic trait. Everyone has to learn it. Even if you do well on standardized tests (that's how you got here, right?), you need to have someone who can run the equipment. Maybe that's you, maybe that's your second chair, maybe that's your hired help. Me, say.
Knowing that the video will play smoothly, look good on screen, stop and start when it needs to, this will let you relax and focus on being charismatic.
You set it up with some irresistible figurative speech. The jury is hungry to suffer with your client.
You push the button and some color bars and 1000hz tone hits the jury.
You look down and you see you're not wearing any pants and the courtroom is flooding with a kind of Croatian liqueur that smells like sweat.
You wake up, vowing never to eat Margie's hot fudge before bed again.
Do you also vow to practice with your media presentation?
You should be comfortable enough to do a stellar job if everything works and an adequate job if it doesn't.
Presenting media in a courtroom is not a genetic trait. Everyone has to learn it. Even if you do well on standardized tests (that's how you got here, right?), you need to have someone who can run the equipment. Maybe that's you, maybe that's your second chair, maybe that's your hired help. Me, say.
Knowing that the video will play smoothly, look good on screen, stop and start when it needs to, this will let you relax and focus on being charismatic.
Litigation Media: How will they see it?
You have some evidence or an argument that will benefit from video or photos.
Picture the other side or the jury seeing it under the most advantageous conditions.
Now make sure that's how they see it.
If it's for a settlement conference, will you play it on your laptop while everyone watches? Will you project it? Will you send it ahead of time with the brochure of documents? Will it work in their equipment?
If it's for trial, is the courtroom better served with a big projection screen or a scattering of monitors, one or two for the jury, one for counsel, one up on the bench to make the judge feel special? If there's sound, how will that be played?
Will your witness talk during the video?
Do you want to play a part at a time? Pause on a particular frame and talk about it?
Is it easy to replay a particular part you may want to return to? (Never make your audience wait while you rewind.)
Are you comfortable running the A/V equipment while the jury watches? Would you rather have help? With or without help, did you rehearse? Did you rehearse again?
If the judge rules parts of it in and parts out, are you ready to play it when you want, with his edits?
More show business: What happens to the playback equipment before and after the presentation? Will you break to take it away? Leave a freeze frame on the projector while the case continues?
Q: Did you rehearse?
Mr. Defense: Asked and answered. Move on, counselor.
Q: You may answer, if you know.
Picture the other side or the jury seeing it under the most advantageous conditions.
Now make sure that's how they see it.
If it's for a settlement conference, will you play it on your laptop while everyone watches? Will you project it? Will you send it ahead of time with the brochure of documents? Will it work in their equipment?
If it's for trial, is the courtroom better served with a big projection screen or a scattering of monitors, one or two for the jury, one for counsel, one up on the bench to make the judge feel special? If there's sound, how will that be played?
Will your witness talk during the video?
Do you want to play a part at a time? Pause on a particular frame and talk about it?
Is it easy to replay a particular part you may want to return to? (Never make your audience wait while you rewind.)
Are you comfortable running the A/V equipment while the jury watches? Would you rather have help? With or without help, did you rehearse? Did you rehearse again?
If the judge rules parts of it in and parts out, are you ready to play it when you want, with his edits?
More show business: What happens to the playback equipment before and after the presentation? Will you break to take it away? Leave a freeze frame on the projector while the case continues?
Q: Did you rehearse?
Mr. Defense: Asked and answered. Move on, counselor.
Q: You may answer, if you know.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Video Deposition Tip: Where to look while answering
If you haven't prepped your witness with on-camera practice, shame on you. Oh, did that slip out? Sorry.
Okay, if, for some lame reason, you can't do a camera test and practice to see how your witness will look onscreen, remember the rule of thumb: The more full-face you see them onscreen, the easier it is for the jury/audience to identify with them. You sit close to the camera so when they look at you, the camera sees most of their face. An exception might be an extreme difference in how they look from various angles. If they have off-putting scars on one side, for instance. Use your judgment.
If you don't know how they'll look, then tell them to look at you when they're answering. Again, you'll be sitting close to the camera.
Some practiced witnesses can look into the camera convincingly. Some.
Some people can get away with looking back and forth between camera and questioner. Again, use your judgment. It's easy to watch them and see what you hope you'll see. Force yourself to see what's really there.
Don't instruct them on the record where to look. You must deal with this ahead of time.
Don't, especially with inexperienced lay witnesses, ask the question then abandon them by burying your face in your docs. Even experienced actors do better looking at attentive, sympathetic faces. The top of your head is not good company in a stressful dep.
You're a very experienced media consumer. Bring that judgment to bear in this high-stakes production.
Your witness, counselor.
Okay, if, for some lame reason, you can't do a camera test and practice to see how your witness will look onscreen, remember the rule of thumb: The more full-face you see them onscreen, the easier it is for the jury/audience to identify with them. You sit close to the camera so when they look at you, the camera sees most of their face. An exception might be an extreme difference in how they look from various angles. If they have off-putting scars on one side, for instance. Use your judgment.
If you don't know how they'll look, then tell them to look at you when they're answering. Again, you'll be sitting close to the camera.
Some practiced witnesses can look into the camera convincingly. Some.
Some people can get away with looking back and forth between camera and questioner. Again, use your judgment. It's easy to watch them and see what you hope you'll see. Force yourself to see what's really there.
Don't instruct them on the record where to look. You must deal with this ahead of time.
Don't, especially with inexperienced lay witnesses, ask the question then abandon them by burying your face in your docs. Even experienced actors do better looking at attentive, sympathetic faces. The top of your head is not good company in a stressful dep.
You're a very experienced media consumer. Bring that judgment to bear in this high-stakes production.
Your witness, counselor.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Video Deposition Tip: Vetting your producer--The Long Version
Yes, the nineteen century has served the law well for hundreds of years but how do you choose someone to shoot your video deposition?
Ask around, colleagues, court reporters.
When you find someone, ask them:
What kind of camera/recorder do you have? You can make an adequate picture with a one chip camera, though everyone has three chip cameras. Recording to VHS tape is over. DV, standard definition is fine. HD sounds better but I have reservations about all the empty horizontal screen on each side of the (one hopes) vertical deponent.
How early do you get there? (My usual is forty-five minutes to an hour early, though I can throw my setup together in about twelve minutes.)
What's your audio setup? They need clip-on lavalieres for each speaker, balanced audio, (if they don't know what that is, wish them well and move on), a mixer, also balanced, headphones that cover their ears (some people are too cool to wear these because they look funny and they mess up their hair. These people are too cool for you.)
What's your backup recording equipment? I feed my whole digital video and audio signal to a second digital recorder AND make an old-fashioned audio cassette for the reporter. Once I had to borrow that audio cassette back to replace the audio on a question.
Are you a notary? Some jurisdictions require this. I'm inordinately proud to be one and I love administering the oath.
Do you know the law about video depositions? There are some national standards and some local color. You should keep a copy on your iPad.
How fast can you turn around a dep? Think ahead about what you need.
Can you edit it when you get the judge's decisions and deliver a dvd? Again, can they do it fast enough. In Illinois, the judge gives his dep edit decisions along with motions in limine and there's always a rush to get the dep ready for the next day. I'm ready for that.
What does it cost? They should be able to tell you exactly for a given amount of time. I measure it from the scheduled start of the dep until it ends for the day, rounded up to the next quarter hour. Dvd copies are charged by running time. If you cancel the day of the dep, I charge for a first hour, my minimum.
If they're defensive or shaky on any of this, wish them well and move on. Every city has someone good. If not, call me. I love to travel.
Ask around, colleagues, court reporters.
When you find someone, ask them:
What kind of camera/recorder do you have? You can make an adequate picture with a one chip camera, though everyone has three chip cameras. Recording to VHS tape is over. DV, standard definition is fine. HD sounds better but I have reservations about all the empty horizontal screen on each side of the (one hopes) vertical deponent.
How early do you get there? (My usual is forty-five minutes to an hour early, though I can throw my setup together in about twelve minutes.)
What's your audio setup? They need clip-on lavalieres for each speaker, balanced audio, (if they don't know what that is, wish them well and move on), a mixer, also balanced, headphones that cover their ears (some people are too cool to wear these because they look funny and they mess up their hair. These people are too cool for you.)
What's your backup recording equipment? I feed my whole digital video and audio signal to a second digital recorder AND make an old-fashioned audio cassette for the reporter. Once I had to borrow that audio cassette back to replace the audio on a question.
Are you a notary? Some jurisdictions require this. I'm inordinately proud to be one and I love administering the oath.
Do you know the law about video depositions? There are some national standards and some local color. You should keep a copy on your iPad.
How fast can you turn around a dep? Think ahead about what you need.
Can you edit it when you get the judge's decisions and deliver a dvd? Again, can they do it fast enough. In Illinois, the judge gives his dep edit decisions along with motions in limine and there's always a rush to get the dep ready for the next day. I'm ready for that.
What does it cost? They should be able to tell you exactly for a given amount of time. I measure it from the scheduled start of the dep until it ends for the day, rounded up to the next quarter hour. Dvd copies are charged by running time. If you cancel the day of the dep, I charge for a first hour, my minimum.
If they're defensive or shaky on any of this, wish them well and move on. Every city has someone good. If not, call me. I love to travel.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Video Deposition Tip: How bad can the other side make your deponent look?
I just edited a settlement video using the discovery dep of the defendant doctor and he had his tie loosened and had two water bottles and two Red Bull cans on the table in front of him.
He was well-spoken and may have made a pardonable medical error, but his tie was loose and he had all those products in front of him.
He explained the occurrence in a way that made sense to me as an informed layman, but his tie was partway off and there were those water bottles and all that Red Bull.
Video is not fair. It is not an Apollonian balancing of facts and probabilities. It's a show; it partly bypasses some of the higher cortical functions and works on the limbic system. It's not enough to have the law and the facts on your side. You need to make the best showing possible, also. To do less is to shortchange your client.
So all those things you can control -- the tie, the bottles of stuff, the background behind the witness, the lighting -- control them.
He was well-spoken and may have made a pardonable medical error, but his tie was loose and he had all those products in front of him.
He explained the occurrence in a way that made sense to me as an informed layman, but his tie was partway off and there were those water bottles and all that Red Bull.
Video is not fair. It is not an Apollonian balancing of facts and probabilities. It's a show; it partly bypasses some of the higher cortical functions and works on the limbic system. It's not enough to have the law and the facts on your side. You need to make the best showing possible, also. To do less is to shortchange your client.
So all those things you can control -- the tie, the bottles of stuff, the background behind the witness, the lighting -- control them.
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