Moving Pictures Worth Thousands Of Words
From short clips to polished productions, videos gain foothold in courtrooms
By DOUGLAS S. MALAN
When presenting cases to mediators and juries, lawyers are benefiting from their decisions to become amateur film producers.
Increasingly, edited videos that include depositions and interviews with family members and friends of accident or crime victims are becoming commonplace in courtrooms. The videos can be used to contradict a witness’s testimony on the stand or capture the human element of a tragedy. They’re also used as transitional devices for attorneys who make a point to a jury and then show a quick video clip of an expert witness, for example, to support that point.
Proponents believe that taking their case into the multi-dimensional realm of full-color images and video not only captures jurors’ and judges’ attention, but it drives home a case with greater impact.
“We highly favor it in our office,” said Bruce Raymond, of Raymond & Bennett in Glastonbury, a business law firm. “It’s a way to convey more information in a more understandable way. It’s a very valuable tool.”
Raymond said he recently used a 15-minute presentation of deposition clips, digital scans of documents and photos to obtain a settlement from an insurance company. Using video, he said, “is a lot more compelling than citing a deposition or pointing a judge to lines in a deposition.”
And at trial, “there’s nothing like cross-examination by videotape,” Raymond said, during which a lawyer can reveal inconsistent testimony by comparing statements a witness makes on the stand with video from a previous deposition.
Edward W. Gasser, of the Avon insurance and corporate defense firm Gasser & Huget, said his firm typically used video depositions only when a witness was unable to travel to Connecticut for a trial or mediation. But in the past three years, Gasser has utilized video more often because so many more jurors are accustomed to receiving information in digital formats. “Juries are more used to seeing electronic testimony than 10 or 15 years ago,” Gasser said.
He added that videotaping depositions can also improve the behavior of opposing counsel and witnesses. In one case, Gasser began videotaping every deposition he took, and the opposing counsel, who had been interrupting witness answers and commenting about the case, suddenly became tame.
Videotaping “made a 180-degree difference,” Gasser said. “In most cases, it’s money well spent.”
‘Increased Retention’
Digital presentations also move proceedings along because they can get to the point quickly and spare lawyers from having to fumble through folders for exhibits and documents.
“Anything that’s visual, there’s increased retention for the jurors,” said Marie Mullaney, president of Litigation Solutions in South Windsor. “You’re bringing evidence in the courtroom on a level playing field with what jurors are experiencing in their day-to-day lives.”
About 30 law firms throughout the country have used Mullaney’s services since she started in 1994. She said that lawyers are increasingly turning to her for help with civil and criminal trials. She has been involved in nearly 20 cases in the past two years preparing trial presentations using various types of software.
One lawyer told Mullaney that arriving at the courthouse with an edited video presentation “is like punching the opponent in the nose when they’re not expecting it.”
The edited presentations are various lengths. Some lawyers, such as Gasser of Avon, play depositions in full with little editing. Others, such as Raymond, put together an edited package. The latter can cost a couple of thousand dollars on the high end for a PowerPoint presentation embedded with video clips and the like.
“I tell clients that typical videotaping of depositions and then use of it in the courtroom will add about $500 to $700 to the cost [of representation],” Raymond said. “We often think it’s a good idea.”
Home Setting
Philadelphia plaintiffs’ attorney Joel D. Feldman began creating a “video settlement brochure” for clients about five years ago that essentially serves as a short film about why Feldman’s client should prevail. The point is to personalize the client’s story, summarize the case for a judge, and perhaps signal the opposition that a trial might be a bad idea.
Witnesses are filmed in a studio or in their homes or offices, and the footage is edited together with other exhibits by professional film editors. Feldman’s office also is equipped with some video and editing equipment.
“We found it was better to film people in the comfort of their own home instead of in a lawyer’s office,” said Feldman, who is partner of Anapol Schwartz Weiss Cohan Feldman & Smalley. “You get better statements of what they’ve gone through than you would get in the cold, stern setting of a deposition.”
The cost of polished production can reach $30,000; with expert testimony interwoven, Feldman’s video brochures can cost up to $60,000.
A video can be more emotive and compelling than the traditional two- or three-inch thick binder of documents traditionally used in court, Feldman said. “But you have to be careful,” Feldman said. “These can’t be overdone. It has to be genuine.”
A lot of work goes into an edited video, even the simplest ones. There’s time spent videotaping the deposition, and then the lawyer must review the testimony to cull the most important statements to be used during the trial or mediation. Then the presentation must be edited together as it will be presented in court.
“Anytime I can, I will use it,” said Bruce McIntyre, a partner of Hellum & McIntyre in New London, who has used digital presentations for criminal defense cases. “Sometimes you don’t have exhibits good enough to be supported by the use of technology. If you try to force this, it can be a problem. If the video makes a dramatic impact to bolster your words, I say go for it.”•
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