What Attorneys Need to Know About the Cal. Supreme Court’s Important Ruling on Animation Admissibility

[Update: The September 2012 issue of Plaintiff magazine features an article by me on this topic. For an expanded discussion, click here to read a PDF of the printed article.]

On Monday, the California Supreme Court issued a thoughtful opinion that finally provides strong guidance on the use of animations in trial, affirming their proper place in supporting expert testimony.

The decision People v. Duenas (click here for PDF of opinion) arose out of a criminal murder trial where the defendant objected to the use of a re-creation of the scene done by a biomechanical expert that purported to show the locations and direction of the defendant shooting a police officer. This post summarizes the opinion and gives three questions that attorneys should ask themselves when considering developing and using demonstrative evidence. (more…)