Animating Evidence: Computer Game Technology in the Courtroom

Courtroom environments, which have been one of the last bastions of the oral tradition, are slowly morphing into cinematic display environments (Heintz, 2002). The persuasive oral rhetoric of lawyers is increasingly being replaced by compelling visual media displays presenting a range of digital evidence in a convincing and credible manner (Lederer, 2004; Schofield, 2007). There are a number of fundamental implications inherent in the shift from oral to visual mediation and a number of facets of this modern evidence presentation technology need to be investigated and analysed. This paper describes a range of examples of where evidence has been presented in courtrooms using digital media (particularly forensic animation and virtual reconstruction technology). The paper then examines aspects of the visual courtroom evidence presented and discusses some of the benefits and potential problems of implementing this technology 1 .