Understanding and Using Courtroom Technology in The New Harris County Civil Courthouse

By W. Perry Zivley, Jr.

In March of 2006, the new Harris County Civil Courthouse opened as home to the state Civil District Courts, Probate Courts, County Civil Courts at Law, Tax Courts, the Harris County District Clerk, and the Harris County Clerk. The Courthouse features 39 courtrooms, including a ceremonial courtroom. Open courtrooms on the 15th floor will allow for future expansion of the civil court system in Harris County. The facility not only is beautifully designed, but also ready for 21st Century litigators, as Harris County has installed state-of-the-art courtroom technology in the new courtrooms.

Using Trial Technology for Persuasive Effect
In recent years, attorneys have increasingly used audiovisual technology and media to present deposition testimony, documents, and demonstrative evidence in court. Courtroom media technology can help convey complex information in a simple form. In today’s world, where most of the information on television or the Internet is in the form of a sound bite, jurors increasingly expect some form of an audiovisual presentation during the course of a trial. Most jurors would prefer to learn the facts of a case by seeing the evidence. After all, “seeing is believing.” Moreover, many jurors are away from their jobs or family and appreciate the efficient and orderly presentation of evidence that advanced courtroom technology can offer.
 Many jurors have become familiar with viewing PowerPoint presentations in their work environment, and everyone, including jurors, likes to be engaged and entertained. Numbers once tirelessly crunched on a blackboard can be presented in a streamlined audiovisual presentation. By using different types of media, counsel can deliver a compelling and memorable display of the evidence, as well as summarize the key points of a case. Digitizing evidence and a case file typically adds organization and efficiency to a trial presentation. Today, lawyers not using some form of audiovisual media to present evidence in civil cases are in the minority.

Historic Courtrooms – Beautiful, but Not “Tech-Friendly”
The courtrooms in the 1910 Harris County Courthouse are beautiful and historic, but lack a built-in technology system for displaying different types of audiovisual media. In 2004, the Board of District Judges Facilities Committee created a technology subcommittee whose purpose was to research available courtroom technology and determine the standard media technology that would be purchased, installed, and available for the courtrooms in the new courthouse. The committee consisted of judges, lawyers, and information technology representatives from District and County Courts. The committee’s initial task was to research the different types of available technology and to design a courtroom audiovisual system within budget. To test-drive proposed equipment, members of the committee attended audiovisual trade shows and visited existing “smart courtrooms” throughout the country. As a result of the committee’s efforts, the courtrooms in the new Harris County Civil Courthouse are among the most technologically advanced facilities in the country.

“User Friendly” Approach
Judge Ken Wise, who presides over the 152nd District Court, chaired the technology committee. According to Judge Wise, a primary goal in selecting which media system to install was that the system be “very user friendly.” The committee “wanted anyone to be able to walk into the courtroom and with little or no training, use all available components.”
Those who can operate an ATM machine or a ticket machine at the airport will easily be able to navigate the controls of the new media system. The control cart console of the media system is located between the counsel tables in each courtroom and features a simple touch screen menu. The touch-screen menu identifies the various input components, which currently include a DVD player, VHS player, document camera, and a cassette player. A laptop computer can also be plugged into the media system so that any electronic media stored on a computer’s hard drive can be displayed.
Each counsel table has a VGA/audio connection built in for immediate laptop computer connectivity. By simply plugging the VGA/audio cable into the back of a laptop, any electronic media, including PDF files, edited MPEG videos or JPEG photos, can be played in the courtroom using the control console. The touch screen menu of the control cart console allows a user to easily select the source of the media and specify a display monitor.
In addition to the control cart console, each counsel table has its own flat screen monitor. Seven 15” flat screen monitors are located in the jury box, along with a monitor at the witness stand and one at the bench. The courtroom monitors are high resolution and are calibrated to display images and video as if on a television. Also, located at the end of the jury box is a large screen that can be lowered from the ceiling and that is visible throughout the courtroom. Positioned in the center of the control console touch screen is a preview screen, which allows counsel or the court to preview any exhibit before it is displayed on the juror or witness monitors or projected on the large screen.
Media from two different sources can also be displayed at different monitor locations simultaneously. While a document, x-ray, writing or other exhibit is displayed on the monitors in the jury box, a video deposition of the witness testifying about the displayed exhibit can play on the large drop-down screen. Alternating multiple display locations gives jurors an opportunity to relax their necks and thereby reduce the fatigue that comes from staring at the same spot for a long time. Jurors can either turn to look at the big screen located at the end of the jury box or simply look at the monitors in front of them.
The media system also has an annotation feature that allows a lawyer to draw directly on an exhibit that is being displayed on the monitors by simply touching the screens at the counsel table or the witness stand. The annotation can be used with static images, animations, or video. Judge Wise has observed that the annotation is used most often from the witness stand where an expert or other witness can draw directly on a document, picture, or map, highlighting some portion of the evidence for the jury. The annotation feature also allows for different colors to be used so that marks can be distinguished easily.

Hi-Fidelity Sound
The sound system in the new courtroom includes speakers installed throughout the ceiling. Counsel or the court easily can adjust the volume from the media control console or a laptop computer. The acoustics in the new courtrooms are so good that a whisper can be heard from one corner of the courtroom to the other. According to Judge Wise, if you are whispering in the hall outside of the courtroom and the doors are open, the judge on the bench can hear what is being said very clearly.
While the excellent acoustics make microphones unnecessary, it creates a problem when lawyers have a bench conference not intended for jurors to hear. In the past, bench conferences often required the court to retire the jury panel to the jury room. To avoid frustrating the jury by moving the panel back and forth, the technology committee chose a noise generator that projects directional or white noise into the jury box. If the white noise is turned on, it is impossible for a juror to hear what is said at the bench.

Reliability Features
The most feared aspect of using courtroom technology is the potential that one or more system components will malfunction during trial. To add to the user-friendly features, the technology committee designed the courtroom media system to be extremely reliable and easy to maintain. Judge Wise and other committee members considered technology flaws and “wanted to eliminate” reliability problems in the new Harris County Civil courtrooms. Thus, if a projector bulb burns out while displaying evidence or static popping develops in the speakers during video testimony, a technology specialist will immediately address the problem. If necessary, the failed equipment easily can be replaced with a component from the extensive on-site inventory, which should minimize a prolonged interruption during the course of a trial.
The bench, bar, and jurors have unanimously praised the updated technology, which is being used with increasing frequency during trials. According to Judge Wise, some component of the media system is being used throughout at least half of a typical trial. Some lawyers now come to court with their case exhibits and all video deposition testimony on a laptop. Judge Wise also notes that lawyers are beginning to recognize the benefits of using the equipment during hearings. Although the new media system streamlines trials, Judge Wise believes that many lawyers are yet to recognize the efficiencies and cost savings this technology can provide.
Despite the advantages to presenting evidence efficiently with a professional appearance, Judge Wise has noticed that older forms of media presentation remain effective and can be used to emphasize critical evidence. For example, some jurors might want to see a document on a computer screen because they are accustomed to looking at information on a computer screen during work. Other jurors dislike listening to an audio reading of a deposition and would rather watch a video presentation. Judge Wise has frequently heard from jurors that a variety of media during the course of a trial keeps jurors interested and engaged.
Technology in the courtroom, if used correctly, is a powerful tool. As a result of the upgraded technology installed in the new Harris County Civil Courthouse, the organization, transportation, and presentation of evidence in a civil trial or hearing has never been easier. The days of hauling 300-pound carts with television monitors and other audiovisual equipment into the courtroom and stacking file boxes in the rear of the courtroom are gone. Before the new equipment was installed, renting a comparable audiovisual presentation system would cost as much as $4,000 a week, often making it impractical.
The new courtroom technology system is stationary and integrated, leaving no need to worry about the proper installation or setup of trial media equipment or whether the system will remain connected and functional throughout the course of a trial. In addition to the media display features, the new courthouse offers “free broadband wireless” Internet access. Lawyers are thus able to connect to the Internet during proceedings and to access computer files remotely from an office server.
Investing substantial time and effort in preparing an audiovisual trial presentation before trial arguably will benefit the case. An entire case, including all documents, photos, exhibits and video deposition testimony, can be loaded onto a laptop computer. By using the available VGA/audio input cable located at each counsel table, counsel can present evidence seamlessly without having to load or use the other available input devices. Having everything digitized and scripted into a well-rehearsed presentation will allow for any on-the-fly deviations.

Paperless Exhibits
Although courts still currently require paper exhibits to be provided to the jury during deliberations, paper evidence can be efficiently displayed to the jury in a digital form. To effectively and efficiently present evidence in a paperless presentation, the paper must be converted to an electronic digital file. Once a document has been digitized, a variety of software programs can be used to display the evidence to the jury. Many such programs permit underlining or highlighting so that critical information can be enlarged and pulled from the document to create more impact on a jury. Creating a digital file is most easily accomplished by using a high quality scanner. For exhibits consisting of documents (including photos) stored in a hard file, scanned files should be generated as a PDF (Portable Document Format) document.
Universally, courts that allow electronic filing use the PDF format, which has become widely accepted as the standard among the legal technology industry. PDF files can be highlighted and redacted. The PDF format can be used when compiling a client’s documentary evidence for presentation and is highly compatible with the leading trial presentation software applications.

Video Files
If filming a deposition, counsel should have the videographer encode the video as a MPEG1 and provide it on a CD. The MPEG1 compression is industry standard for video file formatting and can easily be recognized by many software applications. Additionally, court reporters can provide an ASCii (pronounced “askie”) file of each deposition. ASCii codes represent text in computers, communications equipment, and other devices that work with text. All available trial presentation software programs use the ASCii format to synchronize video footage to a deposition transcript.
With a little time and effort, most lawyers can learn to create and present evidence in a persuasive manner and be in the forefront regarding the new courtroom technology. For more information and a video tour of the media system, a videotape of the interview with Judge Ken Wise is at www.reallawyernews.com.

W. Perry Zivley, Jr., the principal of Zivley Law Firm, has been licensed to practice law in the State of Texas since 1986. He handles civil litigation matters including, personal injury litigation, commercial and business law litigation, probate litigation, and consumer and insurance law litigation.

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