subject: Three Benefits Of Video Court Reporting [print this page] Gathering important testimony from a witness in a legal case used to be a lot of hard work. A witness may be unable provide his or her testimony in a deposition or at trial due to various reasons. In these cases, a video deposition may be appropriate. With the advancement of technology, a witness' deposition can now be video-taped by a court reporting firm. Video court reporting is becoming more and more popular as technology becomes more and more advanced. But is a video deposition or video medical expert testimony right for your firm? Video depositions offer the following important benefits in legal cases:
Video testimony can shorten a trial: When preparing a witness to provide testimony at trial, an attorney will instruct him or her on how to answer each question, how to dress and even how to react to questions of the opposing attorney. This is often referred to as coaching. However, the deposition phase of a case occurs early on before an attorney has had this opportunity to coach a witness. This can save a lot of time at trial because the attorney for the other party does not have to ask a lot of unnecessary questions in an attempt to reveal the witness' true disposition to the jury.
Video testimony captures body language and non-verbal cues of the witness: A jury assesses a witness' credibility based not only on what they say, but also on how they say it. Video testimony captures the attitude, body language, and general demeanor of the witness in a way that a written transcript of the testimony cannot. When it comes to demonstrating these non-verbal cues to a jury, video testimony can be priceless.
Juries prefer video testimony: Studies have shown that video testimony captures a jury's attention better than written testimony. A jury will process testimony presented visually far better than it will process and interpret written documents. Simply put, video provides a more compelling presentation of a witness's testimony if the witness cannot testify in person at trial.
Here, I've discussed the three most important benefits of video court reporting, but video technology can benefit a legal case in many additional ways. Contact a court reporting firm in your area to learn more about using video technology in your case. Court reporting services may include videotaped depositions, videotaped independent medical examinations, inspection videos, day-in-the-life videos and settlement documentaries.
