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The court environment is being transformed as courts increasingly take evidence in visual form and make use of display technologies. Interactive displays, i.e., computer simulations and 360° crime scene reconstructions, may better inform juries, but potentially increase prejudice against defendants. Lawyers use, or seek to use, maps, scientific charts, photos, closed-circuit television frames and video re-enactments. Judges use flow charts to illustrate the choices facing the jury. Even the constraints of space and time are relaxed as expert witnesses appear from remote locations, and child testimony comes in pre-recorded form. Interactive media allow visual products to be re-shaped before the eyes of the jury. Meanwhile virtual reality technologies and holograms are on the horizon. The criminal ‘hearing’ is becoming a ‘viewing’.

Bringing together various perspectives -- police, prosecutors and judges as well as academic experts in law, architecture, media studies, psychology and criminology -- this ARC funded Linkage Project tracks how jurors in simulated court settings use visual evidence in making decisions, and identifies ways of using interactive technologies most effectively, while minimising negative impacts. The main aims are:
- To measure the impact of two emerging forms of interactive visual evidence, computer simulations and 360° crime scene displays, on jury decision-making.
- To identify the contribution of visual evidence to inform the jury factually and emotionally.
- To identify the impact of strategies designed to modify the impact of visual technologies on jury decision-making.

An empirical basis to facilitate better-informed juries and ensure that momentous decisions about the liberties of individuals are based on the best quality evidence presented in the most accessible form is desirable. The study will assist the development of guidelines for the use of visual evidence in criminal trials, taking into account both the possibilities of better informing juries using the best available display technologies and the potential for introducing prejudice.

The emerging field of architectural psychology is investigated. Technological advances pose challenges to the design and management of courts, the organisation of trials and the conduct of prosecution and defence strategies. Many current courts are ill-equipped to support new display technologies, although there are some good recent Australian examples with heritage courts. The suitability of two actual courtrooms is tested, in the views of both users and professionals, and protocols for modifying courts to support effective use of interactive visual technologies will be aimed to be identified.

People involved in this project:

David Tait, University of Canberra, Criminology Link

Greg Battye, University of Canberra, Communications Link

Jane Goodman-Delahunty, University of New South Wales, Psychology

James Ogloff, Monash University, Psychology Link

Graham Brawn, University of Melbourne, Architecture Link

Jacqueline Horan, University of Melbourne, Law Link

Jennelle Kyd, Central Queensland University, Forensic Sciences Link

Chris Lennard, University of Canberra, Forensic Sciences Link

Richard Refshauge, Judge, Supreme Court, ACT Link

Anne Wallace, Australian Institute of Judicial Administration, Jurist

Diane Jones, PTW Architects (Sydney), Architecture Link

Cameron Lyon, Lyons (Melbourne), Architecture Link

Rod Louey-Gung, Integrated Media, Technology Link

Mark Hanson, Hanson and Associates, Technology Link

Justice Environments Research