THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, July 4, 1994 TAG: 9407120521
SECTION: BUSINESS WEEKLY PAGE: 15 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ANN BURROWS, SPECIAL TO BUSINESS WEEKLY
LENGTH: Medium: 52 lines
A courtroom of the future has arrived at the College of William and Mary's Marshall-Wythe School of Law.
It is called Courtroom 21, The courtroom of the 21st century.
``It is the world's most technologically advanced courtroom - and I can prove it if I have to,'' said Fredric Lederer, professor at the Marshall-Wythe School in Williamsburg.
State-of-the-art video technology helps lawyers and court officials to be more accurate and efficient in dispensing justice. It has already been tried in Canada and in the 3rd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
It has been put together under the direction of the National Center for State Courts and is an international demonstration site of technology's upcoming role in the legal field.
The most pervasive new courtroom feature seems to be the remote, two-way video.
Rather than the expensive and potentially risky transport of prisoner to the courthouse, inmates can be taken to a video room in the jail and be allowed to make a plea or watch the courtroom action.
``What will save a fortune is the arraignment of prisoners,'' Lederer said.
Five cameras in the ceiling of the courtroom can be used to produce a multi-frame video of witness depositions, pans of the jury, and close-ups of weapons or other evidence.
Certain frames can be enlarged and others downplayed, with actions recorded much the way a professional football game appears on television. All the videos can be introduced into the court record, providing files that satisfy nearly all the senses - not just reams of transcript.
The courtroom is under constant re-tooling as new products become available. The equipment is donated by companies such as Doar Communications in Valley Stream, N.Y., which specializes in evidence-presentation equipment.
Eventually, Lederer said, prosecutors or defense attorneys will be able to stand at a central podium, hold a light pen and literally orchestrate the proceedings. Next year, he plans to link the courtroom electronically to the law school's 12 mock law firms as a model of ``the complete legal system'' of the future.'' MEMO: Related story on page 8.
KEYWORDS: LAW SCHOOL LAW FIRMS LAWYERS COMPUTERS by CNB