Sunbelt Blog

The Role of Legal Video

Video is a powerful medium that serves many purposes ranging from entertainment and education to acting as a witness by documenting people, places, and events. In the legal industry, legal video plays a commanding role both inside and outside of court. The applications of legal video are as varied as the cases that are filed. Three common ways that legal video is used are as an informational tool, as an eyewitness, and as a tour guide.

Legal Video as an Informational Tool
Video is often used to provide background information to the parties involved in a case. If a case involves a specific procedure and it’s important for all parties to understand how the procedure is normally carried out, a legal video detailing the process can be effective. For example, if a case involves an automobile accident where an aftermarket windshield failed to support the car’s roof, a legal video showing the car manufacturing process, explaining federal motor vehicle safety standards related to the windshield, and featuring windshield-specific crash tests would be informative and illustrative. This same video could show the contrast between factory and aftermarket auto glass installations as well as detail the theories behind the failure of the glass in this particular case. Informational legal videos can oftentimes illustrate complex topics and tell a story through pictures more effectively than a speaker or written text could.  

Similarly, “day in the life” videos are regularly used to illustrate a participant’s life either before or after an incident, or both. For example, if the car accident severely injured an occupant, a day in the life video could illustrate exactly how that person’s life has been impacted by the accident. While the victim could appear in court in a wheelchair, a video showing her daily struggles to eat, bathe, and get around could be more effective at detailing the accident’s impact and long term effects.

Legal Video as an Eyewitness
Legal video is regularly used to record and preserve testimony as is done in the case of legal depositions. In addition, in some cases, video may be admissible as evidence such as security surveillance tapes, videos filmed by private investigators, and videos that captured an accident or other event as it occurred. For example, what if a red light camera captured the car running a red light just seconds before the accident occurred? What if a passerby happened to catch the accident on video?

Legal Video as a Tour Guide
Another common use for video in a legal setting involves taking the parties involved in the case to locations that otherwise might not be accessible or practical. For example, in a case involving an accident at a manufacturing plant, it might not be practical to take everyone to the factory to see the equipment and the working conditions involved. However, sending a single cameraman to the scene and presenting the video to the parties involved in the case can serve the intended purpose.

Legal Video Guidelines
Legal videographers must follow specific federal, state, and local guidelines and regulations concerning legal video evidence. Because of this, it’s important to select a videographer who specializes in legal video and adheres to all applicable regulations.

Video is a powerful legal tool that can help win cases as well as keep cases out of the courtroom. It can serve as an informational tool, an eyewitness, or as a tour guide. Are you using video to its fullest in your practice? What other roles has legal video played for you? We’d love to hear your stories. Please feel free to share below.