The Legal Beat
Is The Witness In The Room With Us? Well… Kinda?
Posted on Monday May 22, 2023
Like this, but with more attention paid to evidentiary standards. (Photo by C Flanigan/FilmMagic/Getty Images)
Back in the day, your witnesses had to be in the actual courtroom for the most part. In the short future, they may just have to be “there” — technologically speaking. It isn’t too bold of a claim to make considering that we’ve been dealing with the realities of Zoom trials for a while now. But the future holds something a little bit cooler than the person testifying donning a little face filter. From the ABA Journal:
The William & Mary Law School in Virginia has spent the past four months experimenting with hologram witnesses—and recently brought them before judges in the courtroom.
Judge John Gibney Jr. of the Eastern District of Virginia presided over a mock trial at the law school last month that included testimony from these full-size witnesses, which were beamed into the courtroom through an Epic, a special unit about the size of a phone booth, Reuters reports.
“The improved definition in the picture gave the people watching and hearing the witness a better chance to evaluate their credibility,” said Gibney, who told Reuters that the hologram witnesses were better than seeing witnesses through a video screen.
It makes sense for students to start preparing for this. Outside of the novelty, it is shaping up to be real world preparation. Of course it would be better to have people show up in person, but if there’s a commuting issue or an unexpected global pandemic occurs and renders the world on house arrest again, it will be good to keep our options open.
Before you rearrange this year’s budget to grab a hologram-a-bob from Best Buy, you should know that there are still a few kinks that need to be ironed out:
While Fredric Lederer, the director of the center, told the publication that holograms could make witness testimony more convenient and accessible, it is unclear whether their testimony would be considered constitutional.
Lederer cited the confrontation clause, which gives people who are facing criminal prosecution the right to confront their accusers, according to Reuters. They also come with a hefty price tag, and because they use the internet, could encounter service glitches.
Petty things like “constitutionality” aside, the developments that technology brings to the field can make some fundamental changes to how we do business.
Law School Introduces Hologram Witnesses In Mock Trial [ABA Journal]
Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s. He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at [email protected] and by tweet at @WritesForRent.
ADDITIONAL STORIES:
GRE Building A Better Test… But Is It Still A Good Test For Law Schools?
Posted on Wednesday May 31, 2023
Jonathan Turley Has New Theory To Bust Hunter Biden And All It Requires Is Warping The Fabric Of Space-Time
Posted on Wednesday May 31, 2023
The Black Guide To Law School Rankings Are Out… With A Twist
Posted on Tuesday May 30, 2023
Harvard Law School Professor Wants ‘State Power’ To Exact ‘Sting Of Political Enmity’ On Baseball Team Over Pride Night
Posted on Friday May 26, 2023
Major Changes To The Bar Exam Are On Their Way
Posted on Thursday May 25, 2023
BARBRI Teaches Most Important Lesson Of Being A Young Lawyer: Dealing With Passive-Aggressive People
Posted on Wednesday May 24, 2023
Woke Mob Rewriting The Bar Exam Or Something, According To Judge
Posted on Monday May 22, 2023
Is The Witness In The Room With Us? Well… Kinda?
Posted on Monday May 22, 2023
13 Inspirational Quotes From Attorney and Author Helen Wan And A Dozen Other Commencement Speakers
Posted on Friday May 19, 2023
Jonathan Turley Bills Durham Report A Success ‘Despite A Lack Of Evidence’ Which Is The Most Jonathan Turley Sentence Ever
Posted on Thursday May 18, 2023
Kim Kardashian Aces Midterms, Conquers Constitutional Law Class
Posted on Thursday May 18, 2023
Law Schools Just Keep Admitting More And More Students
Posted on Wednesday May 17, 2023
Like It Or Not, Pre-Law Students Will Still Rely On The U.S. News Law School Rankings
Posted on Tuesday May 16, 2023
A Modest Proposal To Law Reviews
Posted on Tuesday May 16, 2023
It’s Time To Face The Fact That The LSAT Might Be Immortal
Posted on Monday May 15, 2023