Effective Use of Courtroom Technology:A Judge’s Guide toPretrial and Trial

This Federal Judicial Center publication was undertaken in further-ance of the Center’s statutory mission to develop and conduct edu-cation programs for judges and judicial branch employees. The viewsexpressed are those of the authors. On matters of policy, the Centerspeaks only through its Board.

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Contents

Acknowledgments, ixAddress for comments, xiiPreface, xiiiPart I. Courtroom technology: an overview, 1Three levels of technology, 2Level One technologies, 6Evidence camera, 6Laptop computer with retrieval and presentationsoftware, 8Monitors outside the jury box, 10Digital projector and projection screen, 11Annotation equipment, 13Color video printer, 15Audio system, 15Telephone interpreting system, 16System controls, 17Legacy equipment, 18Level Two technologies, 20Small monitors built into the jury box, 21Electronic whiteboard, 22Integrated lectern, 24Videoconference equipment, 24Real-time reporting, 29Digital audio reporting, 32Internet connections, 34Level Three technologies, 35IPIX displays, 35Virtual reality displays, 36Holograms, 36Large-scale video, 37

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Effective Use of Courtroom Technology: A Judge’s Guide to Pretrial & Trial

Common problems, 38Discovery issues, 39Pretrial issues, 40Trial issues, 41Summary of experience to date, 43Court-provided equipment vs. lawyer-providedequipment, 44Mandatory use vs. optional use, 44Court control vs. lawyer control of equipment, 45Criminal vs. civil proceedings, 46Appearance of the courtroom, 47Cost considerations, 49A level playing field, 50 Juror perceptions, 51Efficiency for the court, 53Faster pace for the lawyers, 54Effects of technology failures, 55Guidance from the rules, 56Part II: Discovery, 61General problems in discovery involving technology, 62Discovery of documents, 64Requiring parties to exchange documents in digitalformat, 64Cost issues, 70Format issues, 73Compression issues, 75Resolution issues, 76Sharing expenses, 77Alteration of documents as they become digital files, 80Discovery of photographs, 82Requiring parties to exchange photographs in digitalformat, 83