A judge in Florida has just set a precedent that might forever change the US legal system—and maybe even the global legal system—forever.
Judge Andrew Siegel didn’t do it with a groundbreaking ruling that will eternally alter the legal landscape. What he did is much sillier than that. He used a virtual reality headset to better understand a defendant’s testimony. This was most likely the first time virtual reality technology had been used in a courtroom.
Miguel Albisu is the owner of a wedding venue in South Florida’s Southwest Ranches neighborhood. He was accused of brandishing a gun at wedding guests during a reception back in 2023 after the drunk attendees got a little unruly. For this, he was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Albisu says he did it in self-defense.
Judge Uses Virtual Reality Headset in Courtroom
Albisu’s defense attorney, Ken Padowitz, decided to get a little innovative in his presentation of his case to the judge. He says he wanted to put the judge in his client’s shoes. So he put an Oculus Quest 2 on the judge’s head to give him Albisu’s perspective of the night that he was surrounded by drunk partygoers who were running amok at his venue.
This isn’t the first time Padowitz has used new technology in the courtroom. Back in the Halcion days of computer animation in 1992, Padowitz submitted for evidence a computer-animated recreation of a crime. Decades later, he’s still doing the same thing. But now the technology has advanced to the point where the judge and jury can be almost literally in his client’s shoes.
This allows the judge to not just understand the words of his testimony, but the physical conditions of it in a much more tactile way. Whether or not this will make his case more convincing is up to the jury.
Keep in mind, just because a lawyer brings in a fancy high-tech first-person perspective of their client’s argument doesn’t mean it’s right. It’s still being informed by the client’s memory of the situation, which could be faulty or could be flat-out wrong. VR tech doesn’t change the fact that human memory as it pertains to the unfolding of the night’s events is still what’s on trial here.
Security camera footage, if there were any in this case, which still likely be much better evidence than a 3D VR recreation of a defendant’s argument. Still, it’s pretty cool that the lawyer thought outside the box to represent his client. Whether it will become a standard tactic in the years to come remains to be seen.
But one thing is for damn sure: judges and juries of the future better carry some Dramamine on them to battle VR motion sickness.
The post Judges Are Using Virtual Reality Headsets in the Courtroom appeared first on VICE.
