We’ve all heard the maxim, "necessity is the mother of invention" and ExhibitsPad is proof of that saying.
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, we were asked to find a way to hygienically distribute documents to all the parties in a federal trial. In this trial, evidence was presented with TrialPad on the screens in the courtroom, and over Zoom. Some witnesses would be appearing remotely, others would appear in person along with counsel and the judge in the courtroom. They needed the ability to review the documents being discussed.
This could have been accomplished with multiple duplicate paper binders, but there were many thousands of pages of evidence - it would have been a lot of binders! Additionally, because of COVID restrictions, a new clean set of binders would be required for each in-person witness. This seemed like an overwhelming task for paper, but an ideal use of the iPad, with a glass surface that is easily wiped clean and disinfected between witnesses. Both parties and the judge agreed to this novel approach.
Knowing that the iPad would be the ideal medium, we initially considered TrialPad and DocReviewPad as ways for users to review evidence. Both apps are powerful and easy-to-use tools with specific purposes, but neither was an ideal solution to be given to witnesses of various backgrounds and technological abilities. There was a clear need for a simple app specifically designed to distribute exhibits.
It became obvious that if we created an app to fill this need, it would have many other uses in legal proceedings. Besides being used by the judge and parties during trial, iPad devices could be loaded with evidence introduced during the trial, and given to jurors to review during deliberations. Each juror could use an identically prepared iPad with all the exhibits, including video, without having to search and share paper and binders.
Loading and preparing iPad devices would also be much faster than printing and organizing binders, with the added benefit of knowing that the evidence on one iPad was an exact mirrored copy of the evidence on the others. Besides containing all the documents and color photo exhibits that can be zoomed in on; it can also include audio recordings, video depositions, and other multimedia files that each juror can play, pause, rewind, or scrub through.
We evaluated other simple PDF apps available on the App Store but there was something about each app that wasn't suitable for a legal proceeding. We decided to make an app ourselves and created a list of important features and capabilities for the legal setting:
- It had to be quick and easy to load evidence into the app.
[We decided to make a USB drive the main way this is accomplished.]
- Users needed a way to confirm that every iPad had the exact same set of exhibits once they were loaded. [We accomplished this by having a document, page, and multimedia count on the Home Screen.]
- There couldn't be any possibility that exhibits from a previous matter could get left in the app and get mixed with the new case being deliberated. [Every import of exhibits completely replaces the exhibits of any previous import.]
- It had to be straightforward enough for non-technically proficient users to find and review evidence. [We decided on text buttons or simple icons, with large touch targets.]
- The app had to be very intuitive with a minimum learning curve, not requiring a manual or training. [We kept everything to one screen with a flat hierarchy so that users, with different comfort levels couldn't get lost within the app.]
- There had to be a robust and easy search capability to find an exhibit, even if hundreds of exhibits were part of the case. [A large search field is always at the top of the screen.]
- The search should search the file names (i.e. exhibit numbers or parts of names), but not search the OCR data to prevent a juror from using the power of the iPad to mine the data. [As a user types in the search field the files are filtered to only show documents or multimedia files that contain those characters.]
- The end user shouldn't be able to exit the app, possibly accessing the internet or using other apps. [Accomplished with Guided Access and a password required to get to the Home Screen.]
- The end user should be able to take a snapshot of a particular page of a document to be able to reference it later. [A snapshot tool stores any snapshots in a dedicated Snapshots area in the app.]
- There should be some way for the user to annotate a snapshot of an exhibit without altering the original exhibit. [Any snapshots that are taken can be annotated with Apple’s familiar markup tools.]
- We wanted to allow the owner of ExhibitsPad to be able to restrict the end user to only be able to use ExhibitsPad, and that can be done using Apple’s Guided Access which is built into iPadOS. This feature can limit the end user to one app, preventing a juror from doing their own research on the internet.
We also wanted to make sure the juror or witness couldn't get back to the Home Screen of ExhibitsPad and delete the exhibits, or somehow try to add more exhibits. We accomplished this by adding a Password setting in the Settings app of ExhibitsPad. When a password is enabled, the user has to enter this password in order to get back to the Home screen in ExhibitsPad. This feature, combined with Guided Access, makes sure that when you hand the iPad to the juror or witness, they stay within the guardrails.
These requirements drove the development of ExhibitsPad, an easy-to-use, single-purpose app designed to allow the end user to review exhibits, whether they be documents or multimedia.
ExhibitsPad can be used just as easily in deposition, with the questioning lawyer arriving with an iPad, or multiple iPad devices, loaded with the exhibits they intend to discuss. Or have ExhibitsPad empty, and then AirDrop exhibits one at a time for the witness to review as they’re being discussed, controlling the delivery and pace of the exhibits without giving anything away at the outset of the deposition.
Try ExhibitsPad today!
