By Christina Spiesel, Greg Battye, and Neal Feigenson
When animated visual evidence is shown in court, jurors’ previous everyday experience of film, TV, and games animation can affect how they will respond. For example, seeing animations as news and science can give courtroom animations credibility
Specific features of animation that encourage belief might also affect the jury’s perceptions. For example, the flow of images can make it difficult for viewers to attend to the details of any single frame, and the movement itself can enhance lifelikeness.
This chapter draws on insights from a mock trial of ‘the Sydney Bomber Case’. The trial involved a fictional alleged terrorist incident in which a young white man was accused of placing a bomb on a train that exploded after he alighted, killing innocent commuters in the centre of Sydney.
The chapter examines the additional punch that animating the evidence may have. It makes the case that understanding the medium can help all particpants in legal proceedings to better assess the persuasive benefits and judgemental risks, and if necessary, to challenge the evidence.
The chapter is useful for::
- Communications practitioners and creators of digital products used in courts
- Students, teachers, researchers – in Law and Psychology
- Forensic scientists and psychologists
- Practitioners of law and criminal justice
The book
This chapter is in the book Juries, Science and Popular Culture in the Age of Terror
Other related chapters
Other chapters that provide research insights arising from the ‘the Sydney Bomber Case’ are:
Chapter 7: Displaying the Bomb on the Train: The Challenge of Preparing Visual Evidence
Chapter 8: Research Aims and Methods
Chapter 9: The Sydney Bomber Study: Introducing the Mock Jurors
Chapter 10: Images of Interactive Virtual Environments: Do They Affect Verdict?
Chapter 11: How Juries Talked About Visual Evidence
Chapter 12: CSI Effects on Jury Reasoning and Verdicts
Chapter 13: The Effect of Deliberation on Jury Verdicts
Chapter 14: Making Sense of The Evidence: Jury Deliberation and Common Sense