The Technology Manager’s guide To

legal av

from the editors of

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Court-Appointed AVSound reinforcement solutions, video arraignments, and interactive annotation devices are becoming more common in the legal system, even ascounties and states stretch their courthouse tech dollars. Even centralized control systems are in greater demand as previously disparate functionscan be accessed on the same interface. So continues our prima facie case at the editor’s desk—sharing strategies that have greater efficacy but are alsoguaranteed to return the investment. We want to help empower end-users of every experience level—from fledgling court reporters to seasonedattorneys. This special supplement, The Technology Manager’s Guide to Legal AV, is designed to do just that. Please share your courtroom, law office,or legal venue questions with us anytime on LinkedIn or Facebook. Thanks for reading.

Editor’s Note...........................................................................................................................................................................A2

FEATURES

ThE SoUNd oF JUSTicE: ENSURiNg ThAT JUdgES, ATToRNEyS, dEFENdANTS, ANd coURT REpoRTERS cAN hEAR oNEANoThER iS A TAll oRdER. hERE’S whAT To coNSidER .....................................................................................................A4

cAlcUlATiNg lEgAl AV’S Roi ANd Tco ................................................................................................................................A6

coURT-AppoiNTEd VidEo: JAilS ANd coURTS ARE AmoNg ThE gRowiNg NUmbER oF JUdiciAl ANd lAw ENFoRcEmENTFAciliTiES USiNg VidEo FoR dEpoSiTioNS, ARRAigNmENTS, ANd oThER TASkS. doiNg iT RighT iS No SmAll FEAT .........A10

ThE EFFEcTiVE USE oF coURTRoom TEchNology ........................................................................................................... A12

mAkiNg A cASE FoR coNVERgENcE: AV ANd iT ARE Slowly coNVERgiNg iN coURThoUSES, pRiSoNS, ANd oThERlEgAl FAciliTiES. ThAT’S cREATiNg oppoRTUNiTiES To woRk moRE EFFiciENTly ANd EFFEcTiVEly, bUT ThE JURy iSSTill oUT oN ThE RElATEd chAllENgES. ....................................................................................................................... A14

lEgAl byod: bRiNg yoUR owN dilEmmA? ........................................................................................................................ A16

mEET yoUR mANAgER: bhiShAm SomAi ............................................................................................................................ A17

[margot douaihy, editor, AV Technology]

Editor’s Note

Table of Contents

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“Large rooms with reflective surfaces pres-ent particular challenges,” said Karl Winkler,Lectrosonics director of business development.“Proper microphone choice and placement arestep one. Then, proper gain structure helps a greatdeal to keep noise out of the system.

“Next is a good auto mixer using a gain-sharingmethod rather than a gated method for mixing.Finally, echo cancellation is critical for intelligibil-ity at the far side, such as hearing rooms or remotesites via teleconference.”

Law firm offices are an obvious example of aremote site, but another—one where the audioenvironment can be even more challenging—isthe place where video arraignments are held.Ideall, all legal participants would sit in a roomwith the right lighting, acoustics, and micing, butthat’s not always the case.

For example, if the jail has limited space,budget, or both, the end of a hallway might beconverted to a makeshift video arraignment space.That means that the legal participants’ voices ringoff the cinder block walls, creating intelligibil-ity problems for the judge. In that situation, micplacement is key.

“The acoustics will be a nightmare—no soundabsorption whatsoever,” said Tim Root, RevolabsCTO and executive vice president of new businessdevelopment. “So having a mic close to the per-

The Sound of JusticeEnsuring that judges, attorneys, defendants, and court reporterscan hear one another is a tall order. Here’s what to consider.

By Tim Kridel

One way that the judiciary encourages respect isby holding court in venues that are frequentlycavernous and clad in high-end finishessuch as marble and hardwoods.Unfortunately that’s alsothe kind of environmentthat gives acoustical design-ers, technology managers,and other AV pros fits.

Above: Courtfacilities, law firms,and law enforcementagencies don’t deployextensive AV systems just forkicks. There has to be a solid ROIto justify each investment.

Below: The Lectrosonics Aspen Trio unit includesautomatic mic mixing, a 48x48 matrix, echo cancellationfor teleconferencing, and two power amp channels in onebox, making it ideal for smaller installations such as lawfirm conference rooms or courthouse hearing rooms.

Don’t you wish life were simple and you could easily connect all kinds of different audio components together with a Dante™ network? Yep, now you can. The BOB88 Break Out Box from Lectrosonics gives you 8 Dante network sends and 8 returns in a single, compact interface box. Low latency, studio-quality audio and Lectrosonics made-in-the USA build quality give you the confi dence to put BOB into your next installation.

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son’s mouth is critical because you’re going to getreverb like crazy.”

Emphasis on intElligibilityEven when participants in legal proceedings arein a well-designed AV environment, that doesn’tguarantee that the judges can always understandwhat they’re saying. Ditto for when everyone is inthe courtroom.

“It’s a major problem right now: The judgecan’t hear anybody,” Root said.

One solution is to put speakers in front of thejudge for sound reinforcement. That design alsocan be advisable for certain types of courts simplybecause of who’s sitting behind the bench.

“A lot of times, appeals [court] judges areolder judges,” said Bob Schwartz, HOK group vice

president and justice project designer. Schwartzexplained that if a judge’s hearing acuity isn’t verysharp, very often, in the front of the bench, theyinstall an adjustable speaker.

It’s equally important that attorneys and otherpeople in the courtroom can hear the judge as wellas one another. That’s not always the case.

“Often, due to the layout of many courtrooms,many court reporters find themselves sitting in an

acoustical void, where the sound wavesbounce around them,” said Martin Gruen,deputy director of the Center for Legal &Court Technology, a joint experimentalproject of the William & Mary Law Schooland the National Center for State Courts.“[That makes] it difficult to hear all areas ofthe room and more challenging for them toaccurately capture and record what is said.This increases stress by not providing themwith an ideal environment.”

The right number of mics in the rightplaces goes a long way toward alleviatingthat problem.

“Typically a courtroom will have fourto eight microphones, based on the number ofparticipants and the type of court proceeding,”said Adam Lofredo, ExhibitOne strategic accountmanager.  “Also, we need to make sure that wehave even speaker coverage, so anyone in thecourtroom feels like the person speaking is rightnext to them having a conversation.  The typicalcourtroom needs between eight and 12 speakers

CalculatingLegal AV’s ROIand TCOCourts and law enforcement agencies don’tdeploy extensive aV systems just for kicks.there has to be a solid Roi to justify six- andseven-figure investments. So what are they?

“A major benefit is the increased ef-ficiency that digital evidence presentation provides,” said aJ shelat, hall Research vicepresident of sales. “Judges have told us thattrials that would have taken a week or longernow only take days due to the ability to shareevidence with the jury, judge, witness, andcounsel simultaneously or selectively.

“For example, before there were high-resolution document cameras and monitors infront of the jurors, they would spend a lot oftime just passing evidence material betweenthe jurors, not to mention everyone else in-volved. Reducing the time in which trials cantake place has a huge impact on the averageper-trial cost and should be taken into ac-count when assessing the Roi.”

total cost of ownership (tCo) also is im-portant. one strategy is to select aV productsthat use standards and technologies that arewidely used but that also haven’t been aroundso long that they’re on a glide path to obsoles-cence: hDmi rather than Vga, for example.

The vendors themselves also affect TCO and Roi. For example, vendor-provided train-ing helps maximize Roi by ensuring that em-ployees know how to use the new equipment.

“next is the manufacturer’s support,including software and firmware upgrades over time, warranty period and accessibility,”said Karl Winkler, lectrosonics director ofbusiness development. “the system shouldlast many years without a hiccup and shouldonly need to be replaced when it is obsolete,and maybe not even then.

“manufacturing quality matters in thisregard, and often the least expensive systemsthat save money at first do not hold up. however, high cost is no guarantee of thesefactors. Check the maker’s track record forreliability. Check their case studies.”

“For courtrooms in particular,this technology greatlyenhances the ability ofthe courts to do automatedrecording and attendant-free sound reinforcementwhile retaining highintelligibility.”

—Karl Winkler, Lectrosonics

Revolabs’ Conference Room Hybrid Mics

for appropriate coverage. “But installing loudspeakers all over the courtroom might not be an option

for reasons such as aesthetics, budgets, and cable runs. Conferencing micswith onboard speakers can be an alternative.

“These speakers do a fantastic job of creating a local sound field—basi-cally a low-level, distributed sound system—which is a perfect solutionfor acoustically challenging environments like courthouses,” said PatrickHerlihy, Media Vision USA senior product manager. “This local sound fieldalso allows the overhead speakers to be kept at a lower level, resulting ingreater pick-up pattern and gain before feedback from the conferencingmicrophones. That increases the quality ofthe audio both locally and remotely.”

If the facility is new construction or amajor remodel, there’s more flexibility forspeaker and mic placement.

“The speaker system should also be setup in multiple zones—typically four: judge,well, jury, and gallery—which will help toprevent feedback from open microphones,”Lofredo said.  “Feedback is created from aparticipant’s audio coming from a ceilingspeaker before it gets to an open micro-phone.  So we zone out the judge’s audiofrom the ceiling speaker that is in his/herzone.”

Mics and loudspeakers increasinglyaren’t the only tools used to ensure a greataudio experience in both courtrooms andadjunct facilities.

“One of the trends that started sometime ago but continues to gather steam isthe use of high-quality auto mixing,” saidLectrosonics’ Winkler. “For courtrooms inparticular, this technology greatly enhancesthe ability of the courts to do automatedrecording and attendant-free sound rein-

Ideal for government and legislativefacilities, TAIDEN’s flush-mountedunit features built-in electronicvoting buttons.

“Reducing the time in which trials cantake place has a huge impact on theaverage per-trial cost and should betaken into account when assessing theROI.”

—AJ Shelat, Hall Research

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forcement while retaining high intelligibility.“Gain-sharing algorithms for auto mix-

ing are becoming the norm now. This,coupled with echo-cancellation technologyfor teleconferencing, has made it possibleto have proceedings that are seamless whilebridging one or more remote sites. Evensmall law offices can benefit from thesetechnologies, making their lives easier whilestill retaining ease of operation.”

Stay flexible for the futureEven the best courtroom AV designs don’tlast forever. The needs and wants of judgesand attorneys change over time, so onechallenge is ensuring that the audio experi-ence remains consistently great. The JusticeResearch Group at Australia’s University ofWestern Sydney is studying ways that tech-nology managers and others can accom-modate those changes.

“One of the key issues that our researchteam is currently investigating is the impactof wireless technologies of the future,”said Emma Rowden, who also sits onan InfoComm—American Institute ofArchitects committee that’s developing AVguides for designing courts and correc-tional facilities. “That may obviate the needfor fixed cables, and free up the real estateof the courtroom for more flexible arrange-ments to suit particular cases.”

Although wireless is an obvious way to ensurea certain level of flexibility future-proofing, it’s notthe only option. For example, the Arizona U.S.District Court features raised floors with 4-foot-by-4-foot panels for access to wiring bundles below.That design makes it easier to reposition furnituresuch as attorney tables if the court’s needs change.

Wireless can be a good fit immediately, too,such as to accommodate attorneys who like topace around. Digital solutions are ideal becauseinterference is less of an issue. Encryption often isanother important consideration.

“We have 128-bit encryption for our baseproducts,” said Revolabs’ Root. “From a govern-ment perspective, that’s for non-secret environ-

ments. We’re also coming out with 256-bit AES forthose environments where they want the capabil-ity of having top-secret-level encryption. For themost part, digital at 128 is fine.”

Batteries are another important consideration.Even if the manufacturer said its product can runfor eight hours between charges, it’s still worthlooking at whether the mic is designed to make iteasy for a non-technical person to change a bat-tery. After all, mics don’t always make it back tothe charger when users are finished.

If aesthetics are a major consideration, andwireless isn’t an option for whatever reason, onealternative is wired technologies that require mini-mal cabling.

“New audio networking technologieslike Dante go a long way toward addressingthe challenge of running cables in a highlydressed environment like a courtroom,” saidLectrosonics’ Winkler. “With a single Cat6cable, 32 input and 32 output channels can berun simultaneously.”

Since 1998, Tim Kridel has covered the techand telecom industries for a variety of publica-tions and websites, including AV Technology, CarrierEthernet News,  Digital Innovation Gazette, ProAV,  and  InAVate. His coverage includes CarrierEthernet, mobile apps, speech recognition, digi-tal signage, FTTx, videoconferencing, Wi-Fi, andcellular.  He can be reached at tim@timkridel.com.

“Often, due to the layout of many courtrooms, many court reporters findthemselves sitting in an acoustical void, where the sound waves bounce aroundthem.”

—Martin Gruen, Center for Legal & Court Technology

“One of the first things that the county officials pointed out was how long the courthouse had been serving the community,” ShawnSnider, project manager at RG Sound & Communications, said about the historic Auglaize County Courthouse in Wapakoneta,Ohio. It was completed in 1894 and recently underwent a $30 million renovation. RG Sound & Communications centered eachcourtroom’s new system on an Ashly Pema 8125.70 integrated processor and amplifier. “Because they had a tight budget and limited[19th Century] closet space, we felt that the Ashly Pema, which offers eight channels of fully featured matrix processing and eightamplifier channels in a two-rack space chassis, was the perfect choice.”

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One example is video arraignments, whosebenefits include the security and cost savings ofnot having to transport people from the jail to thecourthouse. Other applications include deposi-tions and visitation, with the amount of videousage varying widely.

“Courts have been slowly increasing their use

of videoconferencing, especially for administra-tive purposes,” said Fred Lederer, William & MaryLaw School Chancellor professor of law. “Thereis relatively little use of remote motion practiceor testimony. Most remote hearings are via tele-phone at present, although the amount of video-conferenced testimony, especially in civil cases, is

increasing. “Administrative proceedings—especially Social

Security disability hearings, Medicare hearings andimmigration court hearings—are very different.All three have heavy use of remote audio-videoappearances.”

Although video comes with a variety of techno-

Court Appointed VideoJails and courts are among the growing number of judicial andlaw enforcement facilities using video for depositions, arraign-ments, and other tasks. Doing it right is no small feat.

By Tim Kridel

The visual experience is more important than ever in today’s legal system, but increasingly it’s virtual.

This courtroom AV system uses HallResearch equipment to empower users. Thesystem was designed and installed by Smith

Audio Visual Inc. of Topeka, Kansas

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logical and other challenges—more about thosein a moment—it’s a safe bet that usage will con-tinue to grow. One obvious reason is money, suchas freeing up personnel to focus on other tasksinstead of endlessly ferrying defendants to arraign-ments, for example.

A growing number of police officers and detec-tives have PCs and tablets with webcams. Adding avideo softphone client to those devices turns theminto videoconferencing endpoints.

“A court system in Williamsburg would haveliked to be able to use videoconferencing to allowfor a police officer to virtually appear in courtfrom the squad car, thus reducing the time theoffice spent in court and increasing the time he/she is on patrol in the community,” said MartinGruen, deputy director of the Center for Legal &Court Technology, a joint experimental project ofthe William & Mary Law School and the NationalCenter for State Courts.

Another driver is cultural: Attorneys and otherlegal professionals are increasingly using video intheir personal lives. That usage is starting to setexpectations about what’s possible in their profes-sional lives.

“In part due to changing social expectationsrelated to FaceTime and Skype, and in part dueto the current fiscal constraints that are cripplingcourts, I expect remote audio-video appearancesin the courts to expand relatively rapidly in thenext five years,” said Lederer, who also overseesMcGlothlin Courtroom, considered the most tech-nologically advanced facility in the world.

More than a caMeraA wide variety of factors determine whether every-one involved has a satisfactory video experience.Some of those factors are relatively straightfor-ward.

For example, suppose that a witness is testify-ing from a law firm’s office. At her end, the camerashould be as close as possible to the display thathas the courtroom video feed. If they’re not, shecould appear shifty to the judge and jury becauseshe’s looking away at the monitor while talking.She also should be able to see her feed to knowhow she appears to everyone else.

“Often very little attention is paid to the light-ing, the background, the angle of the camera tothe face, and so on,” said Jay Farbstein, ownerof Jay Farbstein & Associates, an architecturalfirm that specializes in law-enforcement facilities.“That can affect credibility. If it’s done well oradequately, everything is fine.”

To maximize credibility and professional-ism, the remote location should have a facilitydesigned for videoconferences rather than a setupcobbled together at the last second. After all, it’sonly freedom or finances at stake.

“Basically we have to treat them as close aspossible to the way they would be treated as if theywere in the courtroom,” said Bob Schwartz, HOKgroup vice president and justice project designer.“That could mean lighting, video quality andaudio quality, what the background is.

“The judge wants to see more than just thehead. The judge wants to see body movement tosee reaction to questions.”

Lighting can make or break a video system’sROI because a dissatisfied judge has the power tostop using it for arraignments and other applica-tions.

“Too often proper lighting is not taken intoconsideration,” Gruen said. “Many judges prefernot to use videoconferencing because they like tosee clearly the defendant’s body language, facialexpressions, as well as voice intonations andinflections. Without proper lighting, this is notpossible and puts both the judge and the defen-dant at a considerable disadvantage.”

The same attention to detail applies to thecourtroom, too.

“There are a lot of different participants inthe courtroom, most of whom are facing differentdirections and have different viewing require-ments,” said Adam Lofredo, ExhibitOne strategicaccount manager.  “As an example, we have toconsider the needs of the judge,  jury members,witnesses, counsel, clerk, and those in the gallery.

“Compounding that are ceiling height, line-of-sight obstructions such as pillars and lighting,whether it’s natural light or coming from lots offixtures. [There’s also] the size of the room: Thegreater the distance the screen is from a partici-pant, the larger the screen.”

MaxiMizing security andproductivityVideo effectively extends the courtroom and otherlegal facilities to the outside world. As a result,securing those video connections is another keyconsideration. Security is just one example ofhow designs and best practices from other verti-cals aren’t always sufficient for judicial and lawenforcement applications.

“Setting up an AV room is not as simple assetting up a videoconferencing room in a businessoffice,” Gruen said. “How defendants are moved

Point of View:DistrictAttorney BrianHermansonKay & nobleCounties,oKlahoma

We do not have videoconferencing in our

courts yet. We do, however, often use video

playback. We also play back video statements

made by defendants when they are inter-

viewed.

We have seen that people are more and

more used to receiving their information

from a television screen or a monitor. When

information is provided to the jury on such a

device we see jurors lean toward the device

and pay closer attention. they appear to have

a comfort level with this form of medium

and, as such, are more willing to receive the

information from such a format.

Brian Hermanson practiced law in Ponca

City, OK, for 31 years, before becoming the

District Attorney of Kay and Noble Counties,

Oklahoma, in 2011.

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into the room, how the public defenders accessthis same room, as well as if they will be in thesame room, how police personnel will manage thespace—these are all important aspects that need tobe planned for at the beginning.”

One way to maximize security is to get inputfrom judges, sheriffs, and other key stakeholdersearly on in a video system’s design. But that’s goodadvice for maximizing ROI, too, as well as iden-tifying other opportunities to implement video.

“The Gulfport, Mississippi, police departmentwanted to incorporate first court appearance capa-bilities via videoconferencing, but issues aroundrestricted funds (once this need was identified)negated being able to incorporate it towards theend of the installation,” Gruen said. “Having thesheriff at the beginning would have brought thisneed to the table at the planning stage and mayhave allowed for different options, enabling thefirst court appearance capability to be incorpo-rated.”

The type of court also affects opportunities touse video.

“By their very nature, most appellate courts donot have visual displays of information becausethey are only reviewing the record of trial made

below,” Lederer said. “Trial courts, however, takeevidence, and technology-enabled trial court-rooms may have various forms of image display,high-tech court-record, videoconferencing, assis-tive technology, and very sophisticated audiosystems. 

“This is actually a complex question becausethere are many different types of court proceed-ings and courts, and their function often affectsthe technology involved.”

ToTal cosT of ownershipFinally, don’t overlook how video architecturechoices affect the system’s total cost of ownership.

“Traditional videoconferencing solutionsfor law enforcement applications such as videodepositions and recording require the complex-ity of infrastructure management, which can-not be outsourced as a managed service due tosecurity issues and regulation,” said Ken Davison,Magor Communications chief marketing officerand senior vice president of sales. “That requiressignificant cost on  both capital and internal ser-vice organizations. By moving to a switched, trans-coderless architecture, infrastructure managementis reduced by an order of magnitude.”

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A courtroom with advanced audiovisual solutions.

Effective UseOf CourtroomTechnology

The book “Effective Use of Courtroom

Technology: A Judge’s Guide to Pretrial and

Trial” is a joint project of the Federal Judicial

Center and the National Institute for Trial

Advocacy that offers specifics about day-to-

day use of technology in courtrooms.

This book, published by the National In-

stitute for Trial Advocacy, states: “Appropri-

ate use of technology to display or play evi-

dentiary exhibits or illustrative aids changes

the dynamic in a courtroom in productive and

helpful ways. For jurors, it can increase the

sense of participation and improve the under-

standing of the facts.”

You can download this resource at http://

www.fjc.gov/public/pdf.nsf/lookup/CTtech00.

pdf/$file/CTtech00.pdf

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Add judicial and law enforcementfacilities to the growing list of plac-es where AV and IT are converging.And like their counterparts in generalenterprise and other sectors, legal tech-nology professionals face a variety ofchallenges, from security concerns tousability.For example, enterprise IT managers often balk at

allowing AV traffic such as video to run over theirnetworks for reasons such as security and bandwidth.There and in the legal sector, that resistance is start-ing to wane, partly because technology has evolvedto address their concerns. Case in point: the use ofvideo for applications such as remote arraignmentand testimony.

“In early 2005, we saw an early adoption of video-conferencing over IP,” said Adam Lofredo, ExhibitOnestrategic account manager. “This was an IT nightmaresince video consumed a lot of bandwidth. Eventually

the videoconferencing manufacturers co-created theH.264 video standard, which was a compression algo-rithm that allowed decent videoconferencing calls atmuch lower bandwidth: typically 384 kbps. 

“At the same time, the IT industry started makinginvestments in the 10/100 MB switches.  This com-bination allowed us to see most videoconferencingtoday run over IP.” 

HDbaseT and Audio Video Bridging (AVB) are twoother technologies increasingly used in courthousesand other facilities so audio and video can share thesame Cat cabling. The next step is to have AV and ITshare that and other infrastructure.

“We are currently not seeing the AV systems runover an existing network because of the networkdemands that AV requires,” Lofredo said. “However,the IT and AV networks are being run in parallel andcohabit in the same backbone pathways and serverrooms. Over the next few years, as IT departmentsdeploy gigabit backbone systems, we will most likelysee a harmonic convergence where AV and IT are allrun on the same network.”

It’s important to ensure that sharing infrastructuredoesn’t make AV vulnerable to eavesdropping or cre-ate a back door into IT systems.

“It is critical to keep data secure, whether it’sstreaming video or sensitive data that is on the court-house’s network,” said AJ Shelat, Hall Research vicepresident of sales. “As AV has evolved, so has IT, andthey each have the tools to share the physical spaceand keep sensitive data secure.”

But not all resources will be shared, includingbetween just AV users. For example, court secu-rity might not want to use the same camera systemsthat support video arraignment. An InfoComm—

Making a Case forConvergenceAV and IT are slowly converging in courthouses, prisons, and other legalfacilities. That’s creating opportunities to work more efficiently andeffectively, but the jury is still out on the related challenges.

By Tim Kridel

Phoenix, Arizona-based ExhibitOne has designed more than 1,500 courtroom systems, including this one.

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American Institute of Architects committeethat’s developing AV guides for designingcourts and correctional facilities has exploredthat kind of sharing.

“They keep saying no, that they want bettercameras for what they’re doing—such as videoarraignment—than what the court securitypeople will have,” said Bob Schwartz, a com-mittee member who’s also HOK group vicepresident and justice project designer.

ObjectiOn: WhO’s in chargeOf the technOlOgy?Someone has to run all of those AV and IT sys-tems, regardless of whether they’re converged.

“It varies by jurisdiction, but it could bethe court clerk, a bailiff, sometimes the courtreporter,” Schwartz said. “I think you’re prettylucky if you’ve got an AV person in the courthouse.”

Day-to-day operations aren’t a minor issue. It’sjust the opposite: If AV and IT systems aren’t workingeffectively together or at all, it undermines their ROI.Even so, it’s not uncommon for court reporters andother legal professionals to have AV and IT operationsmore or less dropped in their lap with little training.

“While the AV systems may be managed andmaintained by someone who is highly trained andexperienced, depending on budgets, it is often likelythat the user of the system will have only basic train-ing to use the system efficiently in order to get thejob done,” said Hall Research’s Shelat. “Whether it is

the bailiff or someone else, the responsible person inthe room already has a core job, and controlling theAV routing is just an added responsibility they arecharged with. “

One reason for limited training is money.“In a world where everyone is trying to cut their

budgets, there are an increasing number of thoseresponsible for these systems that have not beenproperly trained in AV,” said Patrick Herlihy, MediaVision USA senior product manager.  “This makes itincumbent upon us as AV professionals to ensurethat the technology we bring to the table is designedand integrated to be as user-friendly and intuitive as

possible.”When comparing vendors and integra-

tors for an AV or IT project, another thing tolook for is their ability to train staff on newlyinstalled systems.

“Proper training for basic features andoperation should be a major consideration,”Shelat said. “We have seen the knowledgelevel vary considerably from one facility toanother, but also from one bailiff to another.It is the job of the dealer and/or installer toprovide adequate documentation and train-ing for each installation.”

AV/IT training also varies significantly atthe law school level, so it’s a mistake toassume that attorneys will always know howto run a control panel or connect their laptopto the projector.

“Insofar as I am aware, most law schools do notaddress AV issues except insofar as they might comeup as issues in a given course,” said Fred Lederer,William & Mary Law School Chancellor professorof law. “Even then, a criminal procedure course, forexample, might not even discuss the existence ofremote arraignment or for Sixth Amendment con-frontation clause purposes, remote testimony.

“A fair number of law schools do have technology-enhanced courtrooms for training students in trialpractice. The degree to which that technology is usedis very unclear and likely dependent on each indi-vidual teacher.”

One big difference between courtrooms and enterprise conference rooms is that

the latter often limit the types of laptops, tablets and other devices that they’ll sup-

port from an AV perspective. That leaves courthouse technology managers to figure

out which interfaces to support at attorneys’ tables and elsewhere.

“Increasingly courtrooms are moving towards a bring-your-own-device (BYOD)

model, where more attorneys bring their personal devices, including iPads and

various tablet devices,” said Martin Gruen, deputy director of the Center for Legal

& Court Technology, a joint experimental project of the William & Mary Law School

and the National Center for State Courts. “Knowing this ahead of time, and plan-

ning for these work style differences and expectations, ensures that every word is

captured and recorded.”

But that’s easier said than done. For example, each courtroom would need the

most commonly used adapters to connect devices to AV gear such as projectors.

If that’s the strategy for dealing with BYOD, then it’s important to keep an eye on

which interfaces device vendors are adding and dropping from their product lineups.

Unless a case involves, say, copyright infringement, it’s unlikely that an attorney

or expert witness would need to display content that’s HDCP protected. Even so,

content protection is something to keep in mind when troubleshooting because it’s

not uncommon for a device such as a Mac to turn on HDCP even when the content

doesn’t require it.

One way to minimize BYOD headaches is to provide PCs in each courtroom.

Then attorneys, expert witnesses, and other non-staff can bring in their content on

a disk or flash drive. But that option might not fly.

“If their computer doesn’t have the same fonts, it throws off the formatting,”

said Bob Schwartz, HOK group vice president and justice project designer.

Although tablets, laptops, and even smartphones are the best-known examples

of BYOD, they’re not the only types of devices that technology managers and court-

room staff have to contend with. Document cameras are another.

“The variety of hardware presents a challenge because they’re all sources that

need to be integrated into the system,” Gruen said.

Legal BYOD: Bring Your Own Dilemma?

Large legislative venues pose many of the same challenges as courthousesand government facilities—ensuring consistent audiovisual performance withan interface easily usable by myriad participants. The Connecticut LegislativeOffice Building, pictured here, features a customized audio unit with a bronze-plate finish. The microphone system is part of the TAIDEN HCS-4100 DigitalConferencing System line.

A17The Technology Manager’s guide To legal av | J a n u a r y 2 0 1 3 | avnetwork.com

LegaL av

AV Technology:Do you do in-

house AV installation? If not, who is your systemsintegration partner?Bhisham Somai: We do minor in-house AV instal-lation, but for our major boardrooms, we workwith integrators such as Video Corp of America,TriTech Communication, Whitlock, Avidex & RealTime Services.

How is AV/IT convergence affecting your day-to-day work, if at all? Are you equally “fluent” inboth areas?AV techs need to have an IT background to fullysupport our users. Everything is being networkedand accessed via computers and tablets in the officeand remotely. I have been lucky to have started in ITand then converted over to AV, which enabled meto easily grasp all of the new technologies that are

coming forth.

What troubleshooting tools do you regularly use inyour facility, if any?We use remote tools such as Crestron eControl, iPadremote control, device web pages, and Cisco Movi.

What AV equipment/gear are you most interested inprocuring for your facility in the next year?We will continue to add collaboration tools to ourboardrooms and adding features to our videocon-ference infrastructure.

Should tech managers attend InfoComm? Why/why not?Absolutely, the future of AV ties into IT infrastruc-ture, especially with AV systems being centralizedand videoconferencing taking up massive resourceson IT infrastructures.

At NITA, a team of expert professors, judges andpracticing lawyers offer hundreds of one-day or multi-day courses for continuing legal education credits andaccreditation. Last year it launched an online pro-gram called “Deposition Skills: Online” for attorneysunable to attend in-person due to time, location orbudget restraints.

Instructors record their lectures via Mediasite inNITA’s studio71, and remote participants access a cata-log of on-demand presentations to watch, in additionto taking part in live classes via webcams.

“In our first year, we’ve had over 6,000 views ofour on-demand video content. Our volunteer edu-cators are giving lectures all around the U.S., and

our goal is to increase our distancelearning capabilities to include evenmore online programming on dif-ferent topics,” said Wendy Velez,NITA’s associate executive directorof operations. “Mediasite for memeans innovation. It gives us thefreedom to try new things and reachmore attorneys nationwide.”

NITA also holds private class-es for individual firms and usesa teaching method called flippedinstruction that involves faculty pre-recording lectures for attorneys to

watch before class. Class time is then dedicated tohands-on learning and dynamic discussions aboutwhat they learned.

“Mediasite is easy to use and anyone can do this.You don’t have to be a film schoolgraduate to be able to operate theplatform. We can also track analyticsand see who watched what, which isimportant for the state accreditationboards,” Velez said.

Mediasite is used by schools,corporations, and government enti-ties; its video content managementand webcasting system automatesthe capture, management, deliveryand search of live and on-demandstreaming videos and rich media.

For more information, visit son-icfoundry.com and nita.org.

Q&A With Audio Visual TechnologyManager Bhisham Somai

National Institute for Trial Advocacy CreatesOnline Learning Portal for Attorneys

Bhisham Somai is the Audio Visual TechnologyManager at Weil, Gotshal & Manges, LLP, New YorkCity. Founded in 1931, the New York office is Weil’slargest office and serves as the legal firm’s worldwideheadquarters; according to the company’s website,more than 500 attorneys practice in Weil’s New YorkHQ. The firm has 21 offices worldwide.

The National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA), a provider of hands-oneducation for the legal profession, created an online learning program forcontinuing legal education and attorney mentoring via Sonic Foundry’sMediasite webcast technology.

Wendy Velez, NITA’s AssociateExecutive Director of Operations

Bhisham Somai, Audio VisualTechnology Manager, Weil,Gotshal & Manges LLP in NYC