COMPUTER-ANIMATED DISPLAYS AND THE JURY - FACILITATIVE AND PREJUDICIAL EFFECTS

Two experiments assessed the effects of computer-animated displays on mock jurors. In both, participants watched a trial involving a dispute over whether a man who fell to his death had accidentally slipped or jumped in a suicide. They watched a proplaintiff or prodefendant versi on in which the body landed 5-10 feet or 20-25 feet from the building. Within each condition, the distance testimony was presented orally or with an animated display. When the tape depicted the event In a neutr al manner judgments were more consistent with the physical evidence. B ut when the plaintiff and defense used the tape to depict their own pa rtisan theories, participants increasingly made judgments that contrad icted the physical evidence. Results suggest that computer-animated di splays have greater impact than oral testimony. Whether that impact is to facilitate or mislead a jury, however depends on the nature of the display.