Attorneys! Don’t trust your courtroom will have sufficient technology to play your evidence properly.
Recently I was in Portsmouth, Virginia, to testify. Before I flew out from Los Angeles, our attorney told us the courtroom has a patch system for plugging computers into the court TV system, and we could use that during testimony.
When I arrived, I saw there was an ancient patch system and very outdated monitors. In fact, the resolution of the monitors was so low that they were less than the resolution of the evidence. This means evidence was degraded during playback and the jury would be unable to view the evidence properly during the trial.
Because I brought a very full briefcase of connectors and cables, I was able to bypass the court’s built in system and plug my computer directly into the court’s main large screen TV. Poof! Problem is solved and the evidence could be played in full resolution.
Attorneys, please plan ahead, so that you can test and confirm your playback systems — both video and audio — are working properly for your trial.