In March 2006 the new Harris County Civil Courthouse opened, which is now home to all Harris County Civil District Courts, Harris County Probate Courts and Harris County Civil Courts at Law. Harris County has gone the extra mile by installing state of the art courtroom technology in each of the new courtrooms. As a result of this significant upgrade, organizing, transporting and presenting evidence in a civil case has never been easier. The media center permits input from Computer files, DVD, VHS, a document camera and cassette tape. The visual media input can be displayed on monitors located on counsel tables, at the witness stand, in the jury box, a large screen that drops from the ceiling and on the Court’s monitor. Media can also be displayed simultaneously from two (2) different sources, allowing a document to be shown on counsel, juror, witness and Court monitors while a video taped deposition is playing on the large screen. The system also features annotation capability which allows counsel or a witness to display a drawing or marks upon the media being displayed from counsel table and witness stand touch screen monitors. The updated technology has been received with unanimous praise from bench, bar and jurors.
Zivley Law Firm has recently had the opportunity to interview Judge Ken Wise of the 152nd Judicial District Court of Harris County concerning the courtroom technology installed in the new courthouse. Judge Wise played an integral role in the selection of the components of the media center and provided us a hand on demonstration of the available features. Judge Wise’s explanation and demonstration of the state of the art courtroom technology will be highlighted in an upcoming article pending publication in the Houston Lawyer Magazine. A video of his demonstration will be made available in the near future on the Real Lawyer News located at http://www.reallawyernews.com/