The Trial Technologist's View

Presentation for a Class Action Hearing

Blake Boyd — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 19:53:12 +0000

A while back we created this presentation in Keynote for use in a hearing where the attorneys were explaining to the Judge why this matter should be granted class action status. It’s difficult to explain the argument in text, but generally they were arguing that the fraud was occurring while using the US Postal service. The confusing part is that they also shipped via Fedex/UPS, which threw a kink into the theory.

Take a look at the video below for a video example of the slides.

The Next Major Case?

Chuck Floyd — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 16:55:43 +0000

This came up over dinner a few weeks ago, and I thought it deserved a few minutes of our time.

US Ethernet Innovations was founded in East Texas. They purchased a portfolio of 35 Ethernet Patents coincedentaly called the “Ethernet Patent Portfolio” from 3com. Their goal? File and pursue patent infrindgment on technology that is part of every computer made. The question brought up at dinner was, do the companies or people who bought said equipment get covered by the company that they purchased the equipment from?

What would the potential damage be to say, USAA a major insurance company with probably thousands of computers each with at least on ethernet port, as well as server racks with probably thousands, are they culpable for using unlicensed goods?

As reported by Network World in October, U.S. Ethernet Innovations launched patent-infringement suits against Acer, Apple, Asus, Dell, Fujitsu, Gateway, HP, Sony, and Toshiba.
For “profiting” off of the NIC ethernet port technology.

3Com was awarded a $70mil. verdict against Realtek, before selling the patent portfolio to USEI, who’s only purpose is to pursue and continue 3coms after the fact licensing.

That said, many companies are scrambling in advance to get licenses in advance, and try to avoid litigation altogether.

Should be a very interesting story to follow, and see who settles and who opts for trial.

Ben Stevens shows us how to print handouts in Keynote

Blake Boyd — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 18:49:40 +0000

I was reading an article today on SBOT.org (which is the state bar of Texas’ Technology sections blog) about “story boarding” presentations for the courtroom. Pretty interesting article and I agree with the philosphy. But what caught my eye is this quote:

“Practice Tip: If you’re using a Powerpoint (or Keynote) to persuade a Judge, create a Handout for him/her.

I don’t think I’ve ever recommended a client to do that, I always print out copies but they are normally for the attorneys to have in hand while giving the presentation or for producing to opposing counsel to review. That’s something I’m always going to suggest from now on.

Literally 45 seconds later I click on over to The Mac Lawyer and notice Ben Stevens has recently posted a great walk-through on how to print handouts in Keynote.
Thanks for the help Ben, perfect timing!

We’re not moving to “Minority Report” brain scans.. yet

Blake Boyd — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 17:05:49 +0000

I’m a firm believer that eventually science will find a undeniable way to prove whether or not someone is lying. From everyone I’ve talked to that has any clue about the potential, they say we’re far from proving it scientifically.

Lorne Semrau learned this the hard way in a Tennessee Federal Court this week, when Judge Tu Pham would not let Semrau’s MRI evidence pass the Daubert challenge.

Judge Pham wrote:

“The court notes that potential or known error rates is but one factor under the Daubert analysis,” Pham wrote, “and that in the future, should fMRI-based lie detection undergo further testing, development, and peer review, improve upon standards controlling the technique’s operation, and gain acceptance by the scientific community for use in the real world, this methodology may be found to be admissible even if the error rate is not able to be quantified in a real world setting.”

It’s only a matter of time before enough research has been completed to allow these types of scans to be admisible. Until that time, I’ll be wearing my tinfoil hat whenever possible.

Read the full story at Wired.com

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Best Laser Pointer For Your Presentation

Edgar Hernandez — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 18:16:48 +0000

Laser pointers are very useful during presentations, allowing the speaker to point important areas on the display screen from across the room. Red laser pointers are the most common type and use a lower powered light, normally a 650nm wavelength. You can get a common red laser pointer for less than $20 today. Green laser pointers have recently become more popular and are powered by a more powerful laser (usually a 532nm wavelength), making them much more visible that red lasers. Some green laser pointers are more than 50 times more powerful than the red ones, and can even burn paper and cast a visible beam even in a lighted room. The low-end green laser pointers start at about $50 and can go up to several hundred dollars for a more high powered one. We use Green laser pointer on our presentation and they work great they are brighter than the Red lasers and are easier to follow on the screen.

Now since Green lasers are more powerful than the Red one, it is important to keep in mind that people have been arrested for pointing them at planes, at people at sporting events, and at or around law enforcement officers. So use them wisely – laser pointers ARE NOT toys and should not be used in away to cause damage to people or property.

What you need to know about LCD Monitors in the Courtroom

Blake Boyd — Tue, 04 May 2010 19:22:21 +0000

Technology is cheap! Acquiring a full courtroom monitor setup (plaintiff, defense, witness, judge, dual display) would cost a fortune only a couple years ago. Now you can have a slick outfit for a relatively good price. But don’t let this confuse you…

Take a quick look online and without much searching you can find a 22″ LCD monitor from companies like Acer that are under $200 and are actually pretty good looking screens. In my last trial, the competitor Litigation Support company set up 7 of them. SEVEN 22″ monitors strung throughout the courtroom. It was like walking into a technology wonderland. I really like the way it looked, but I knew how it would not perform well.

All the monitors were run through a switch that allowed for each monitor to be turned off or on in any combination. All the technology was wired and setup properly, and it ran without a hitch. But there was a huge issue, size…

The screen that was on the witness stand was so large that you could only see the face of the person testifying. My client had to turn his monitor sideways in order to see the judge and witness easier. Defense counsel left theirs up and the Judge seemed pleased with her monitors placement. But just the vast size of these monitors made it hard to see people in the courtroom.

It’s something we should all consider when choosing what piece of technology to bring into the courtroom. Going along with my theory that the technology should be as transparent as possible, the large LCD monitors just don’t fit into the equation. Ideally everyone should be able to view the projection screen, but if there isn’t a position where everyone can, I make sure that at least the judge and jury have a great view of the big screen.

I don’t see any point in bringing in screens larger than 15″-17″. I actually prefer 15″ but they are getting harder to find. The brand/model we are these Sony 15″, unfortunately they are discontinued. Also issue to note is that none of the major trial technology presentation software packages take advantage of a monster windscreen LCD properly.

I would also stress that placement is a big issue, the monitors should be as out of sight as possible, while still viewable. The easiest way to determine if a location is good is to sit behind it and look around at what you can and can’t see. Ideally the screen should not block anything.

Voir Dire Exhibit Board – Proximate Cause

Blake Boyd — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 15:31:40 +0000

A Trial Tech view reader from California saw our Negligence board example and had use create a similar board but with the definition of Proximate Cause. We mailed him the print and he had it mounted at Kinkos/Fedex. We printed an extra copy and mounted it, think it turned out pretty good.

What to say when asked if you want a MPEG or DVD..

Blake Boyd — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 14:12:54 +0000

Every video deposition we take we ask the client what format they want their video in. There is two standards in the industry; MPEG1 and DVD, each are completely different from each other.

MPEG1 – This is the format of choice for all the trial presentation software packages.

PROS:
- Can fit 2 hours on a CD
- Practically any computer can play this file type
- Easy to edit

CONS:
- Degraded video quality
- Will not play in a CD/DVD deck (like the one in your living room)
- Can not convert to DVD and have DVD quality

DVD – This is just what it sounds like, a disk no different from one you’d rent from Blockbuster.

PROS:
- “DVD” quality
- Will play in any DVD player
- Can convert to mpeg1

CONS:
- Not compatible with trial presentation software
- Difficult to edit

So which should you ask for? Well that depends on what you’re going to be using it for. If you know that you’re going to use Sanction, Trial Director, etc. you will save some fees by ordering a mpeg1. If you are planning on playing back video clips on a TV you should ask for DVD. MPEG1 does not look good on televisions as the quality is pretty low.

Adobe TV Reveals CS5 Launch

Edgar Hernandez — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 04:16:53 +0000

Adobe TV revealed the CS5 launch today, with the Creative Suite 5 Production Premium Kit, it’s pricey – but reaming with the goods needed for any designer serious about their work.. The kit includes an upgraded Photoshop with “Truer Edge, which has better edge detecting technology, and of course Content-Aware Fill, which definitely looks like magic.”

With 64-bit applications built from the ground up, that means we can now render video files much faster and provide a better service for our clients with all their video needs.

CS5 Production

Video Depositions: Picture in Picture

Blake Boyd — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 23:33:49 +0000

I’m working on a bunch of video depositions that opposing counsel had taken.. Synching them for trial.. He’s using a PIP (picture in picture.. where he turns into a little box at the top right and the elmo takes up the whole screen, and vise-versa) with an ELMO, and while that used to be a decent idea, in today’s world it’s a big no no if you’re using technology in trial.. here’s why:

(example: He’s examining the police office and pulls the police report up)

1. It’s a major distraction trying to focus on the document, we humans tend to process what we see before what we hear, and so while the picture is switching, we look at what is happening and tend to over look what we hear, which happens to always be a question or answer, since it takes a few seconds to switch between ELMO and camera.

2. It’s almost unreadable when we show the video in trial. Unless you get so close you can’t see the whole document it becomes blurry during the video conversion process. Unless you’re playing back HD video (which it’s not being recorded in nor do any trial presentation software package support) you just see a page with something on it.

3. We do this with Sanction or Trial Director, it’s one of the basic features, and it only takes a couple of clicks to tell the video to move panels and pull up a document in another, essentially the same as PIP. And, you can actually read the document. BUT, I still revert back to issue #1, in that it’s a distraction.. I once worked a case where we had over 300 different blowups and exhibit call outs in only 7-8 hours of video.. my eyes were literally bouncing back and forth as documents came up and down.

4. It adds an unnecessary cost if you plan on using technology in your trials. I’m not sure what we charge for this feature in our video depositions, because I always talk clients out of it.

When it comes to issues like these this is the difference people that use technology, day in and day out, make.. we go to trial, and we know what does and doesn’t work with the latest technology =).

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