Digital White Papers

LPS19

publication of the International Legal Technology Association

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I L T A W H I T E P A P E R | L I T I G A T I O N A N D P R A C T I C E S U P P O R T 69 T H E S T R U G G L E I S R E A L : U S I N G T R I A L T E C H N O L O G Y W I T H M I L L E N N I A L S I N T H E J U R Y B O X of courtroom technolo has not experienced the same trajectory. To this day the crux of any trial presented with technolo, consists of displaying a document, photograph, chart or graph on a screen in the courtroom and then zooming in on a section, highlighting or annotating the relevant area. Today's technolo has made the process easier and faster, but the theory and strate remains the same. What has changed drastically is the Jury. As an adult the typical 1993 juror was raised on listening to stories on a radio, watched some television on up to three channels in black and white, did not own a smart phone, did not have access to Google and social media did not exist. Whereas the Baby Boomers and Generation X'ers may have learned technolo at various ages, millennials have never had a day without a computer. What was once a jury who had never seen images to accompany testimony on screens or documents being highlighted, zoomed in, or annotated, is now one which is impatient, educated and was raised on a heavy diet of smart phones and social media. Enter the Millennial. Now, information is given to society in visual form, smart forms, smart TV's, IoT, small laptops. It's fast, efficient and to the point, a la the tweet. Millennial's or (Gen Y) fall into the range of those born between 1977 to 1995. They are the largest living generation and could comprise one third of all jurors. They are educated, have a sense of entitlement, confident, effective multi-taskers, ethically and racially diverse, and, most importantly IMPATIENT AND VERY SKEPTICAL. Therefore, the methods that should be utilized to present evidence to these jurors is different than to baby boomers (Born between 1946-1964). Effective presentations to Millennials on a jury are vastly different than those used in witness examinations to a jury 25 years ago. The format of the visual and demonstrative versions of exhibits are now critical to successful courtroom presentations. The speed, display methods and the pace of witness examinations need to change to suit the audience so the jury remains engaged. While the purpose of examination and cross examination is to obtain testimony, the challenge is finding technolo that will suit the changing needs in addressing the younger generations. The extreme challenge is now that the pace, strate and examination outline requires updating to keep attention focused thru laying a foundation that culminates in substantive testimony. For example, it's not enough to use technolo to perform a simple zoom-in and blow-up a paragraph to draw attention to a key portion of an exhibit to the jury. The key is now to keep documents in context, which is likely to avoid any suspicion from such a skeptical juror. What was once a jury who had never seen images to accompany testimony on screens or documents being highlighted, zoomed in, or annotated, is now one which is impatient, educated and was raised on a heavy diet of smart phones and social media.

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