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Hi, this is David Henson with HensonFuerst Attorneys. Our firm was preparing for trial
recently, and a client asked about court room exhibits, what they are, and how we decide
which ones to use. I thought that was an interesting question, and figured it would be something
fun to talk about in a video. Trial exhibits can be plane jane and simple, or they can
be exciting and interesting (well, maybe to just a lawyer, but you get my drift).
First, what is an “exhibit”? An exhibit is a document or object that is used in court
to prove your case to a judge or a jury. It can be a paper document, a video, a model,
or practically anything that would help a jury decide a case fairly.
The most basic of exhibits are paper documents. For example, exhibits might include a client’s
set of medical records and bills, or a police report documenting a car wreck. Sometimes
we may present the document as just a single 8x11 page, or as part of a group of documents
in a notebook. Other times, we may present the exhibit it as a huge blow-up so that everyone
in the courtroom can see it An exhibit might also be a photograph or video,
which might document the scene of a car wreck, or a set of injuries.
Alternatively, a court exhibit might be an anatomical model of the body. We use these
in conjunction with the testimony of doctors to demonstrate to a jury how a joint in the
body works, what the parts of the body are, or how a surgical procedure is done.
An exhibit may also be the actual equipment used in an examination or surgical procedure.
For example, this is a rod that was inserted into a client’s leg after she fractured
her femur. Similarly, we may use a model of bone, this
particular one is called a “Saw Bone.” These are designed so that the bones can be
fractured in the same way that a bone was broken in a wreck. You have all heard the
adage of “A picture speaks a thousand words” and these saw bones do that for me. There
is no doubt that this fracture was painful. In other videos we have talked a lot about
the importance of accident reconstruction engineers, experts hired by lawyers to help
figure out what really happened during the event that caused an injury. Those engineers
often make video recreations like this one, which shows happened during a wreck, to help
the jury visualize exactly what happened. Similarly, we also can use computer-generated
animations of injuries and surgical procedures of our clients, like the one playing now.
At the end of the day, our job as lawyers is to ensure that we have communicated our
client’s case to the jury in the most effective way possible. At HensonFuerst Attorneys, we
devote significant time and money to thinking through and investing in the proper exhibits
that will best explain our client’s injuries. That, in our opinion, is what separates an
average firm from the leaders in the courtroom.