During a murder trial, I want a doctor to explain a CAT scan to the jury and provide them with a way to see it without straining their eyes. Anyone have suggestions on how to display it in court?

Do you have access to a DOAR system? You can zoom in pretty tight with one. Then put it on a big tv monitor. Or I guess you could make multiple PowerPoint slides in advance for the doctor to point to.

No DOAR here. I thought of Powerpoint, but have you ever tried scanning a transparency to create an image to put in the Powerpoint slide? It aint pretty.

My next attempt is to just put the thing on an overhead projector. And that's not bad, but I don't want to offer the CAT scan into evidence.

I'll bite. What is a DOAR?

Is this thing a big color transparency? How big?

A DOAR is put out by the DOAR company. At least I think that is their name. Try http://www.doar.com

Anyway, it is a projection system that resembles a cross between an overhead projector and the starship Enterprise. Basically, you put the item on a flat bed, just like an overhead. You turn on two lights (that look like the engines from the Enterprise). Then a video camera is mounted above which transmits the image to closed circuit. That is the short version. If you buy more bells and whistles, you can pre-shoot images and store them, for instance, all the pictures and images of all your evidence, including documents. You can even barcode them and pull them back up instantly from a list you compile. Very helpful during closing arguments, particularly if someone is ready to help you bring it up on screen. You can also use an electronic pad not unlike John Madden to have your witness "draw" on the exhibit and explain things to the jury. The basic unit has phenomenal close-up capabilities and can even convert negatives into positives.

We bought one with forfeiture funds when I was in Chambers County. At the time, the whole thing ran about $16K. Ouch. But it was drug money well spent. In Montgomery County, some courtrooms are outfitted with at least the basic system. The jury box gets a couple of monitors nice and close to look at. The judge has one on the bench, and counsel gets one also.

Doesn't Harris County have something similar in their new building? Or am I just dreaming?

John, could you go ahead and put the CAT scan images on the light board and just do a close-up with a really good digital camera? I know some of them can get in pretty close.

Had John not left Harris County, he would have the use of a DOAR system in every courtroom (except Judge Poe).

The problem is that the CAT scan is basically are very large negative. Scanners don't handle negatives very well, and I can't fit the whole thing on there, anyway.

Taking a digital picture is a possiblity, although I will be surprised if the detail is good enough. I will try that, though.

At this point, I have it on an overhead projector, doing rather nicely. And, of course, the doctor can point to the image with a laser pen.

That may work the best, anyway, as I don't want to introduce it into evidence. I just want the doctor to show the obvious difference between a victim with a blood clot and a person with a normal CAT scan.

And, if I had stayed in Houston, I would have been flooded out of my office for the last year.

In the Penry retrial, a defense expert used an overhead to show an MRI of Penry's brain to the jury. The image displayed quite well and the jury was able to see it. The only problem was that the "little white spots" on Penry's brain that were supposed to be "brain damage" were actually a clinically insignificant condition that exists in about 60% of the public at large. That DOAR system is also referred to sometimes as an "ELMO" and the one in Judge Edwards courtroom in Montgomery County worked great for showing the jury photos, the confession, the murder weapon, etc.. We spent the better part of our trial trying to figure out how to misappropriate their's. I do understand they've come down quite a bit in terms of cost.

Thanks, I think I am going with the overhead projector. The image is quite clear and large.

In Cameron County we had a mobile rack with a light board on it. The CAT Scans would clip into the top and the board would project light through the x-ray or CAT Scan. Because it was on wheels we were able to put it right in front of the jury and have the Doctor step down. Most Doctors offices have them affixed to walls I would be willing to bet someone local would have one on wheels. It was much lower tech that a DOAR unit but worked well enough.

You trial lawyers get all the fun toys.

John, any chance you could drive it down the road to Pounds or BWC? A professional lab like those might have a DOAR or some other system to extract more convenient images from your big negative.