The Marshall Project: PowerPoint Justice
The Marshall Project just published a must read article about cases reversed due to inappropriate use of PowerPoint visuals by the prosecution.
At least 10 times in the last two years, US courts have reversed a
criminal conviction because prosecutors violated the rules of fair
argument with PowerPoint. In even more cases, an appellate court has
taken note of such misconduct while upholding the conviction anyway or
while reversing on other grounds (as in the case of Sergey Fedoruk).
Legal watchdogs have long asserted that prosecutors have plenty of ways
to quietly put their thumb on the scales of justice —such as concealing
exculpatory evidence, eliminating jury-pool members based on race, and
so on. Now they can add another category: prosecution by PowerPoint.
“It’s the classic ‘A picture is worth a thousand words,’” said Eric
Broman, a Seattle attorney who focuses on criminal appeals. “Until the
courts say where the boundaries are, prosecutors will continue to test
the boundaries.”
Read entire article
