I grew up watching Perry Mason with my Grandparents. No matter how many times we would watch the same episode, we were always thrilled when that “Aha!” moment arrived that solved the seemingly impossible case. I felt the same way when we would watch Quincy, ME. It is too bad many real cases do not have that element of excitement.

So how can evidence “POP”? How do we keep the jury awake during hours of technical, often conflicting expert witnesses? Not every case has the graphic photographs of the moment a murder happened like the recent case in Arizona.

Close your eyes. Listen to my description of a crime scene. How vivid are the images of this verbal description?

“There were footprints and bullet casings approximately 10 feet from the vehicle. There was glass from a broken window and bloody footprints that led to the back of the vehicle, where a body was found in the trunk.”

Impressive? Not so much. A simple sketch can make the description much more interesting;



Even simple demonstrative evidence can keep the jury awake. Another example:



These images are more descriptive than his brain moved backward then forward in his skull.

Demonstrative evidence can be as simple or as elaborate as you desire.

Describe to a jury an instrument left in a patient after surgery. Now “Show” them;



Does this picture need words to describe what she is doing?