Driving Home Points with Demonstrative Evidence by Stephen Appelbaum
Law, by tradition, has been a profession of words and oratory in the courtroom
, but we are living in a visual society. The Baby Boomers and Generation X'ers have been brought up in front of television sets. They are more accustomed to seeing and hearing news than reading it from a printed page. The success of the newspaper USA Today is an example of color visual support (in the form of maps, charts, and graphics) to supplement the printed story. Even the television medium has maximized the use of visual support for the spoken word, by going to the video of the actual event as opposed to the reporter's summary and retelling of the events. When introducing a story for a news segment, there will usually be a graphic icon or symbol of some kind on the screen next to the reporter to visually anchor the general theme of the story. Anchoring is an important technique to be considered throughout the trial and should be considered for each key witness or expert. Careful use of demonstrative evidence provides opportunities to anchor concepts and drive home points to the jury.
Driving Home Points with Demonstrative Evidence by Stephen Appelbaum