Read Depositions to Jurors instead of Video Depositions
A tip from David Ball that I find surprising. David is fond of saying that trials are human events. He cautions against using video depositions at trial. And if you do need to use a video deposition, keep it down to ten minutes before the jurors tune out.
With the advent of Sanction and the ease of showing video depositions at trial, I had become a big fan of video depositions for the doctors depositions that were not cost effective to bring to the courtroom.
David suggests getting someone that reads well, not a professional actor, just someone with a good voice that reads well to read the doctor’s deposition. I was surprised that he felt that was more effective than hearing from the doctor himself. The answer is that trials are human events and that jurors react better to a live person, rather than a talking head on a video.
P.S. – If it seems like I’m posting a lot from David Ball, I am. I took my own advice to learn from the smartest people I know and meet with David once a month to learn the latest tech.
Hanging out with the Professor twice a month? Now you have made all the rest of us jealous. Thanks for passing his ideas on. I posted on your post describing how to use witnesses to teach the jury about burden of proof. I enjoy reading your blog.
Robert,
Thanks for the nice words. A lot of what David says is common sense, but some of it does surprise me. I think the key is to go with what works, not what we think will work.
I would have to weigh out the pros and cons of this one... sure the jury will respond better to a live person than to a video tape, but do they respond to a live person that is not the actual person being represented? (does that make sense?)
Our video-synchronized depositions are usually used more for potential impeachment than a witness that is unavailable for trial. Also, if a witness is sick at their deposition and unable to testify at trial, the video does a great job of illustrating their condition. I guess its just a case-by-case kind of decision to make.
