People v. Charles Dean, Case No. 08CR10323: 4/20/09

This case involves allegations of First Degree Murder, and the facts involve a claimed arson that was intended to cover up the homicide. The Defendant was contacted the evening after the fire, and he was found to have a lighter in his pocket. The plastic casing on the top of the lighter had melted. The District Attorney is using the document camera to show the jurors the lighter. The lighter is contained in a sealed plastic bag. Some of the jurors are having difficulty (along with the Court) seeing the lighter. The Court suggests that the lighter simply be passed along to the jurors for their view during testimony.

Although document cameras have their place, and indeed they are effective generally at showing the exhibit to the jurors simultaneously, in order to point out something important about the exhibit, often we forget the notion of “self-persuasion”. If the exhibit is in a state that allows it to be handled directly by each juror, giving them time to examine it, look carefully at the important part of the exhibit to see for themselves, this is an effective step in self-persuasion of those jurors. If a person is allowed to examine an object on their own, making their own conclusions, then those conclusions will be far more effective in how they view the case than any conclusion that is spoon-fed to them by the attorneys in the case. It further involves them in the case itself, since a camera is no real substitute for the real thing. Request that the Court pass the exhibit amongst the jurors, and do not delay the trial for this view – simply continue with questions that will highlight that exhibit while the jury is viewing it.