Vol. 7, No. 4, Pg. 21. A Sneak Preview: Computer Integrated Courtroom.

• Author: By C. Mac Gibson Jr. and A. William Roberts Jr.

South Carolina Lawyer

1996.

Vol. 7, No. 4, Pg. 21.

A Sneak Preview: Computer Integrated Courtroom

21A Sneak Preview: Computer Integrated CourtroomBy C. Mac Gibson Jr. and A. William Roberts Jr.22During that trial, the public got a first-hand look at a computer integrated courtroom (CIC). This CIC enabled the trial participants to review documentary evidence and the trial testimony of witnesses instantaneously on computer screens that were located throughout the courtroom.

A CIC functions through "real time" court reporting. This type of reporting simultaneously transcribes courtroom testimony, as recorded by the court reporter's steno machine, and sends the transcription to computers located at the litigants' tables, the judge's bench, the witness stand and the jury box. The computer screens look as though they have an invisible typist hidden behind them because words seem to magically appear and scroll across the screens.

Such immediate accessibility to the trial transcript provides many advantages to the judge and litigants. For example, prior to trial, a lawyer can load the deposition testimony of an adverse witness into his or her computer and annotate that testimony with "issue codes" such as "negligence" or "breach." These issue codes would be located on the computer software "side bar."

While the adverse witness is testifying at trial on direct examination, the lawyer can review the annotated version of the witness' deposition testimony to spot any inconsistencies that can be used for cross-examination questions. Specifically, if the witness should deny a particular statement that was made during his deposition testimony, the lawyer can call up that particular statement on the computer screen and use the exact wording to impeach the witness.

Another advantage in using an issue code is the ability to ensure that the lawyer has proven all of the elements of a cause of action. For example, in a negligence case, the lawyer can avoid the judge's granting a motion for judgment as a matter of law against his or her client by simply reviewing certain excerpts of the witnesses' testimony that contain issue codes such as "proximate cause." As a result, the lawyer will not be forced to review the whole testimony of each witness and can easily determine if he or she needs to clarify certain facts to prove proximate causation.

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