Using Magnetic Trial Exhibits.
At the 2002 Auto Torts, Gary Pillersdorf talked about using foil backing on trial exhibits so that magnets would stick to them. The cost is about $2 a square foot, so it costs less than $25 to add foil backing to a 3' x 4' exhibit.
"Where did the collision occur?" "In the middle of the intersection." In the middle of the intersection?? the middle...of the...intersection. I think every client I ever had said the middle of the intersection.
With an aerial view of the intersection and some magnetic cars, you can have the client show exactly how the collision occured
This does a number of things. It gives the jury a visual, which is always good. It gets the witness out of their chair and standing up, which gets more blood flowing through their veins so they will be more lively.
It also leads to good (and easy) questioning:
Show the jury where you were when you first saw the other car.
Where was the other car when you first saw it? Could you show the jury that?What did you do to avoid the collision? Could you show the jury that?
What did the other car do to avoid the collision? Please show the jury.
Please show us where the car hit your car.
Then instead of getting the response 'in the middle of the intersection' your client is showing them exactly where he was, what he was doing, how he responded and the collision will come alive for the jury. Your client will be more animated as he is playing with cars. Something we all did as children.
I think this is far more interactive than a computer modeling (unless you need it with an accident reconstructionist) and involves the witness a lot more.
For the cars I got a bunch of small matchbox type cars from Toy R Us that were actually light plastic and slid along the floor on a large ball bearing embedded in the bottom of the car. I removed the ball bearing and glued the cars to a magnet. If you come up with a better solution, let me know.
You can also use this for any other type of exhibit. We have used the magnetic exhibits for a number of aerial photos showing where items were placed on a property and where they should have been placed on the property using different colors of magnets.
Aerial photos are easy to come by. Most small private airports have pilots that love to fly, but don't have much money. I offer to pay for an hour of the plane's time and gas and they fly me for free. This normally costs about $60-75.
If you start doing this, check out the magnet websites online. We bought a whole stack of magnets in different colors and sizes, different arrows, "X"es, and other magnets. If you have some magnets you use and like a lot, please let me know.
