The era of Zoom is upon us.  If you hadn’t participated in a Zoom videoconference before the coronavirus pandemic, the odds are you have by now – or will be very soon.

In fact, a number of court jurisdictions at all levels – including the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California – have begun holding court proceedings via Zoom, and the Collin County District Court in Texas will begin holding jury trials using the platform.

Although it’s fair to assume that live court proceedings are not suddenly a thing of the past, it also seems likely that Zoom and similar platforms will continue to have their place.  For example, witnesses who are older or otherwise high risk for the virus might prefer to appear virtually rather than spend hours in a public courtroom.  It’s also not hard to imagine that if there are future flare-ups of the virus, more courts might choose to hold trials entirely by Zoom rather than close down the courts for weeks.

Even after the coronavirus is a distant memory, it may be that Zoom becomes the preferred method to receive testimony from witnesses who can’t appear in person, eliminating the drudgery of watching a multiple-hour, prerecorded witness examination – which jurors call “nap time.”

As a communication tool, Zoom has its pros and cons.  Although it lacks the immediacy of seeing someone face to face, it also opens up new opportunities for savvy attorneys and witnesses to spice up the presentation of witnesses who cannot be in court in person.  For example, the screen-sharing feature could allow an expert radiologist to essentially project MRI images directly onto viewers’ screens and use the computer’s tools to call out areas of interest, which is preferable to projecting a grainy image onto a courtroom screen 30 feet away from the jury and highlighting with a shaky laser pointer.  Similarly, showing jurors documents could become more seamless and less clunky than it has sometimes been in the past.

However, not every witness is going to shine on Zoom.  The platform could accentuate the dullness of less dynamic witnesses, and the less technologically savvy could struggle to make his or her appearance as smooth and confident as you’d like.  When you choose expert witnesses for virtual testimony, you may want to pay more attention that usual to personal charisma and the ability to incorporate interesting visuals into a presentation.  You might even want to dig up old conference presentation videos to see who is more – or less – capable of being creative and holding an audience’s attention.

Change is never easy, but it always presents new opportunities to those who embrace it.  We’re here to help you adapt.  If you have witness video you’d like to test out with a Zoom panel of real jurors, or need to conduct a “dry run” with a witness via Zoom, we’d love to hear from you.  Contact Partner/Senior Vice President Claire Luna at cluna@juryimpact.net to find out how we can help.

Our Virtual Focus Groups Deliver Real Insights

One of our clients’ main concerns with virtual focus groups is that the discussion won’t be as deep or meaningful as you have come to expect from our research sessions.  However, we have found that jurors are just as eager to share personal information and nuanced opinions with others – even when those others are faces on a computer screen grid.

During a focus group last week with New York City residents, we asked if there are any good things that might come out of this pandemic.  Some of the participants’ insights were profound and revealing, as demonstrated in this two-minute clip.

We have now conducted or are confirmed to conduct virtual focus groups in Missouri, Maryland, Florida, Connecticut, New York, Georgia, California, Texas and Ohio.  Using internal and national recruiting methods, we have worked to ensure representative recruits in all of these jurisdictions.

If there are any concerns about the viability of in-person research, but you still have a need for research, please reach out to talk with us about our virtual focus groups.  Juror predispositions, case facts, arguments, exhibits, witness videos and damages can all be tested while you observe and communicate with our backroom analysts to make sure the research stays focused on your priorities.