Franklin County Courthouse recently completed a multi-phased renovation to their historic court facilities in Chambersburg, PA.  To aid them in the technology design for the four renovated court rooms, they called upon the expertise of Martin Gruen, Deputy Director of Courtroom Design & Technology for Courtroom 21 at William & Mary Law School in Williamsburg, VA.

The County’s decision to utilize Martin Gruen’s experience was fortified by the mission of Courtroom 21, a state-of-the-art educational courtroom designed to prepare their students for presenting cases in a high-tech environment.  It’s objective as well as Franklin County’s was to design a court environment that would allow for multiple remote witnesses, electronic evidence presentations and the automation of legal proceedings processes.  It was also to increase accessibility for the community with the addition of assistive listening and foreign language interpretation technologies.

To achieve these goals at Franklin County Courthouse, SAGE Technology Solutions was contracted to implement the design.  At the commencement of the installation, Mr. Gruen commended the SAGE team by stating, “I have worked with many systems integrators in my career designing courtrooms, some with hundreds of Federal Courthouses under their belts, that didn’t perform as well as your guys.”

SAGE Delivers

Prior to the commencement of the installation, SAGE worked closely with Consultant Martin Gruen, to configure the system so as to optimize the performance of the system.

The Touch Screen Control Panels manage the entire Audio/Visual System with Custom, Graphical User Interface (GUI) screens. These screens are designed to seamlessly integrate the A/V Systems into the normal flow of court proceedings with minimal interruption.

All controls are designed to be on one control screen. When video sources are selected, controls for that A/V Source appear in the center window of this screen; allowing all functional controls to remain visible simultaneously.  The Judge’s and Clerk’s Control Panels are able to pre-select Destinations for Video Display, preview and queue the video before sending images to the final destinations.

Because the GUI screens are laid out with the operation of the court in mind, the users of the system were successfully using all components of the A/V System after only one training session.

GUI Screen Functions

These GUI Screens allow for custom, single-touch controls for Judges or Court Clerk to:

• Provide the Jury with the information they require, the Gallery with information they are permitted, and the legal teams the additional sound and video information they need through video  displays, speakers and multi-zone delivery of sound
• Originate Video Conferencing sessions for Remote Witnesses and Experts
• Activate Evidence Podium, Witness Stand, Council and Jury Box LCD Screens for evidence display
• Initiate Annotation Functions on Evidence Podium and Witness Stand Touch Screen LCD Panels
• Mute all Audio and Video Evidence Displays with One Button in Emergencies
• Provide sidebar conversation sound masking to the gallery and Jury
• Ensure complete accuracy for Court Reporters’ headsets; including during private sidebar conversations
• Control video playback of evidence and information from a variety of pre-recorded sources
• Automate Audio Mixing for Appropriate Sound Pressure Levels
• Switch and Control Program Audio for A/V Sources including Video Teleconferencing, DVD/VCR player, auxiliary audio and microphone inputs
• Power on and off all systems and audio/visual tools

Cutting Edge Courtroom A/V Technology

Courtroom #4 at the Franklin County Courthouse possesses some of the most advanced courtroom presentation systems in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.  These systems are designed to enhance the presentation of evidence during court proceedings without hindering their flow.  One of the phrases we often say at Sage is “Reaching the PlayStation™ Generation”. 

Typically used in reference to our educational clients, the concept is now applied to court proceedings as well.  Today’s Jury pool is made up of people who were raised watching television and playing video games; therefore, are better able to comprehend evidence when delivered visually.

Evidence Presentation is critical to court proceedings. It is imperative the jury members are able to examine electronic evidence as closely as possible. The LCD Display panels in the jury box are configured to allow for the best possible viewing.

All electronic evidence displays are controlled entirely by the Judge during proceedings. The Judge has the option to entrust control of the A/V System to the Court Clerk during certain proceedings. This allows the Judge to devote their undivided attention to the proceedings when necessary.

Equipment Highlights

• Crestron Touch Panel Control with Custom Graphical User Interface (GUI)
  
• Side Bar Sound Masking Feature
• Eight LCD Display Monitors in Jury Box and Witness Stand Plasma Display
  
• Touchscreen Annotation Monitors at Evidence Podium & Witness Stand
  
• Computer, Video Conference, Document Camera, DVD & VCR Display Capabilities
• Tandberg Video/Audio Conferencing with Echo Cancellation
• Biamp DaVinci Web-based Audio Control Software
  
• Sennheiser ADA Assisted Listening Systems
• Custom Training Sessions & CD-Rom User Guide

Solutions Provided by SAGE

The implementation of the Tandberg Video Conferencing System allows counsel to place remote witnesses on the stand while maintaining continuity and without the expense and inconvenience of bringing them to the courtroom.  The Plasma screen strategically located above the Witness chair incorporates the Remote Witness into the proceedings as if they were in the room.

The Sennheiser Assisted Listening System allows for ADA compliance and makes the proceedings accessible to hearing-impaired participants.  The system is Infrared (IR) which confines the audio signal to the room where it originates. This maintains the confidentiality of the proceedings by preventing the signal from penetrating the walls of the courtroom.