If a former prosecutor is allowed to have his way, Broward County’s jury could be the first to see a new dimension of expert testimony.
Ken Padowitz is the defense lawyer for a Coconut Creek man who was accused of running over his neighbor with a Dodge Viper and trying to kill him. He wants jurors to be able to take the wheel through the use of virtual reality goggles, which promise to give them a view of the crime from the point of the defendant.
Padowitz asked Broward Circuit Judge Ernest Kollra last week to allow his client’s jury to use virtual reality goggles in order to fully immerse itself in the testimony of an expert witness on accident reconstruction.
It’s not been done before in Broward. It has not been done in any other country in the United States, Padowitz says. This wouldn’t be the first instance Padowitz has been at the forefront of computer animation in courtrooms.
In 1992, Padowitz, a Broward County prosecutor, sought to place a defendant behind bars on charges of manslaughter in a hit-and-run incident. He persuaded a judge to let jurors view two-dimensional computer animations on a TV screen. This decision was upheld later by an appeals court. It opened the door to computer animations in many criminal trials.
Padowitz hopes to open the door for virtual reality and 3-D animation. His motion will be heard on Friday. Broward State Attorney’s Office did not respond to the motion.
Padowitz stated that an expert’s opinion was admissible to present before a jury. We’re taking it one step further. They will be able to look as though they are there, able look around and see what the defendant saw.”
If convicted for first-degree attempted killing, Benjamin Siegel, 47 years old, could spend up to 30 years in prison. Padowitz hired an expert witness to prove that Siegel didn’t intentionally hit the victim with his vehicle. The expert’s findings will be illustrated in the virtual reality presentation created by Eyewitness Animations of Pompano Beach.
“It is the expert’s testimony that’s admissible,” Padowitz said. “The illustration is an extension to the expert’s testimony.” It was not intended to murder.”
Jack Suchocki, president, and CEO of Eyewitness Animations, stated that the virtual reality headsets would place the juror between two seats in the vehicle’s front.
Suchocki stated that “the flexibility and ease are remarkable.”
The juror’s field will be 360 degrees. This means anyone can turn around to see an illustration of the car’s back, but that would be inappropriate, he stated.
Suchocki stated that “one of the benefits of this system is that we can actually record what each juror looks at.” He said that this would ensure that jurors are focusing on the evidence and not technology.
Eyewitness Animations was responsible for computer animation in the 1992 South Florida case. Suchocki stated that he sees juries using virtual reality headsets in dozens more cases, including those involving plane crashes and car accidents.
Padowitz is currently preparing a similar motion for VR headsets to be used in a shooting case. This motion has not yet been filed.
The compromise of putting jurors in goggles is one that both defense and prosecution lawyers must make. If the technology works, lawyers won’t see their initial reactions to the technology. A headset can’t be used to see the eyes of jurors.
Padowitz stated, “The truth is that you want the jury to see you and you want their face during a trial.” “We are really looking at the video together and then using it to support our arguments, once the jury has seen it.”
If the judge permits it.
