Professors Imwinkelried, Shestowsky Comment on Media Technology and Trial Practice for Plaintiff Magazine
Professors Edward Imwinkelried and Donna Shestowsky commented for Plaintiff magazine on the ways online technology and social media are affecting trial proceedings. Both professors are interviewed at length for the article, "Lights and cameras; Tweets and Google," which appears in the magazine's November 2010 issue.
Professor Shestowsky commented on topics including the "CSI Effect," which "epitomizes the fear that TV shows create unrealistic expectations on the part of jurors regarding the kinds of evidence that lawyers are expected to produce at trial," she said. "This hypothesized effect has only recently been subject to serious academic and theoretical scrutiny. And, the jury is still out."
Professor Imwinkelried commented on problems associated with jurors going online to research trial information, among other issues. "Many trial judges now give jurors repeated, stern warnings against such research," he said. "The litigants are entitled to a decision based on the evidence presented in court -- which they hear and can challenge. If a juror accesses information on the Internet, the litigant may never even know of the existence of the ‘evidence' that was the real basis for the decision against the litigant."
Professor Shestowsky, who has a law degree and a PhD in Psychology, teaches Criminal Law, Negotiation Strategy, Alternative Dispute Resolution, and a seminar in Legal Psychology. Professor Imwinkelried is a world-renowned evidence expert and has published extensively in the field.