NCJ Number
75015
Date Published
1979
Length
22 pages
Annotation
Courtroom use of media technology such as videotapes, picturephones, and close circuit television systems are considered through a review of research and literature.
Abstract
The literature and research on the courtroom use of media technology reveal conflicting opinions about the efficacy of using these instruments in the courts. The major criticism seems to be about recording the testimony of witnesses, editing objectionable testimony, and showing the resulting videotape to the jury. This procedure arouses concern for the constitutional issues of right to confrontation, right to counsel and effective assistance of counsel, privilege against self-incrimination, and due process. Opponents argue that spatial and temporal discontinuities will result from editing procedures. The advantage of the use of videotape in trials is the speeding up of the judicial process through the deletion of inadmissible evidence before it reaches the jury. The court decisions and research so far conclude that tape and live presentations are roughly equivalent, with no impairment of legal rights resulting from videotape use. This positive response and the current use of videotape as a law school teaching aid indicate that major social changes in views of courtroom justice are forthcoming. Thirty-three references and two interview citations are included. (ERIC abstract modified)