Today I want to talk to you about some remote video trial fails. If you are preparing for an evidentiary hearing with the court and you’re doing it via video, the Maricopa County courthouse is using GoToMeeting.
And there are some things that are happening that are making it very difficult for people to participate fully. So I wanted to talk to you a little bit about that and how you might better prepare.
Eliminate potential sources of noise
Number one: you do not want to have your children at home while you are testifying in court. You’ve got to figure out a way for them to not be there.
Number two: you need to eliminate background noise. So turn off your TVs and turn off your microwave. Don’t have people cooking in the background, wear headphones, and eliminate background noise.
Remember that you are in court, you’re in a professional setting even if you’re at home. So you want to dress the part. You want to look the part, you want to speak the part, and you want to make sure that you are not going to be interrupted. to interrupt it.
Plan on how to share your exhibits online
Number three: you need to have a plan about your exhibits. So right now Go To Meeting has not allowed for screenshare. So you need to either have printed or have a separate screen up where your exhibits are and you and your attorney need to do a trial run to make sure that you’re communicating well. You want to make sure that when your attorney directs you to look at a certain exhibit, that you can see it. One option is to use Zoom as a way to chat with your lawyer and a way that your lawyer can screen share the exhibits they’re looking at.
Use a Computer – Not a Phone
The two of you can communicate that way, but you’ll still need to have monitors to look at. So either way you need a plan for your exhibits. Don’t walk around. We had one incident that I’ve heard of where a person in court was walking around their house, showing the judge, the playroom and the kid’s rooms. You can’t do that.
So anyway, you need to be in a specific space. You’re going to want to print your exhibits so you can refer to them, and come up with a way to communicate with your attorney.
You may be at home, but don’t forget to keep it classy. Keep it professional. If you follow these tips, you will do better in court and have a better chance of getting what you want from the judge.
