Why is legal animation as effective as it is in court?
So far, there have been many cases where there was absolute confusion and no hope of getting to the root of the matter. What does legal animation have to offer in a case like this?
It is straightforward.
Legal animation has the remarkable ability to dissolve complexities in rather complex cases. This is why legal animation has become an admissible tool of evidence in a court of law.
However, like every form of evidence, there are rules that must be followed to ensure that the evidence is not prejudicial to the case at hand.
Therefore, when using legal animation, you have to avoid some mistakes to ensure that the entire efforts you have channeled towards the evidence are not wasted.
Here are four mistakes you must look out for all the time when considering using legal animation:
- Using unverified facts
One of the vital aspects of legal animation is facts.
What are the facts?
Facts are things that have been known or proven to be true. When your facts are baseless, they cannot be deemed relevant in court.Â
Therefore, when legal animation is about to be used, the animator, in cooperation with experts in the field in which the case is based, must gather as many facts as possible and make sure those facts are duly verified.
For instance, there would be a disaster if a crash animation portrayed the incident to have happened in lane A when an eyewitness can testify that the accident actually occurred in lane C.
Such legal animation could be discredited and ruled out of the admissible evidence in such a case.
- Not using an expert witness.
More often than not, legal animations always require a witness or expert witness. Sometimes, the knowledge portrayed in such animations needs confirmation from an expert in the field.
It is believed that a layman without the right certifications should not be deemed an authority in such delicate matters. In such matters, it must be noted that an expert witness should be gotten to shed light on the case using legal animation.
A medical case is an example of a case where an expert witness is needed to present the legal animation in court. Another instance is in a legal animation that serves as vehicular crash animation.
This almost became a problem in the case of State v. Farner, when Officer Farmer was not seen as an accident reconstruction expert. However, it was later clarified that he could stand as an accident reconstruction expert for the case. If this had not been done, the attorney might not have been allowed to proceed with the use of legal animation.
- Portraying irrelevant and prejudicial facts
When legal animation is being used, it is pivotal to major in the relevant facts.
According to Rule 401 of the federal rules of evidence, a relevant fact is one that has any tendency to make a fact more or less probable than it would be without the evidence or if the fact is of consequence in determining the action. Therefore, when gathering your facts for the legal animation, you need to pinpoint the relevant facts.
After this, every prejudicial element in the evidence should also be done away with. The federal rules of evidence Rule 403 state that “the court may exclude relevant evidence if its probative value is substantially outweighed by a danger of one or more of the following: unfair prejudice, confusing the issues, misleading the jury, undue delay, wasting time, or needlessly presenting cumulative evidence.”
When any of these elements are detected in evidence, whether relevant or not, it stands the risk of being struck out. Therefore, when legal animation is about to be created, these factors should be at the forefront.
- Using an inexperienced legal animation company
Legal animation requires a level of expertise that cannot just be gotten everywhere. Before you commence the process of creating a legal animation, you need to consider a legal animation that would comply with the rules of evidence, tackle the project with the highest level of expertise, and also uphold a high level of integrity.
What is the use of a legal animation created to perfection but delivered a day after the court appearance?
With this in mind, you need to use the services of an experienced legal animation company with a track record of successful wins.
Conclusion
With these tips, you can now step into the courtroom for your next court case as an attorney or client with confidence since you have the perfect tool for winning a court case.
