On December 17, 2024, a courtroom in Fort Lauderdale, Florida used virtual reality to analyze a defendant’s retelling of events.
South Florida’s WPLG Local 10 News reported that 59-year-old Miguel Rodriguez Albisu submitted a VR reenactment to the judges for his defense.
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Legal analyst David Weinstein told Local 10 that this incident was the first time any American used VR in the courtroom.
Consequently, it sets a unique precedent for future cases in the US and perhaps other countries.
The defendant’s VR defense
News website Sun Sentinel reported that Albisu faces nine counts of aggravated assault with a firearm.
He allegedly pulled a gun on reception guests at his private venue Cielo Farms. The court documents say he wanted a March 2023 wedding party cleared out by 10:30 PM.
The guests insisted they could stay until 11:00 PM. Moreover, they recorded Albisu holding a gun in one hand and yelling, “Get out!”
In response, Albisu asked judges to wear virtual reality headsets to view the 3D simulation of his account.
Broward Circuit Judge Andrew Siegel allowed the use of the VR demonstration for the courtroom hearing.
However, he didn’t confirm his permission to use virtual reality with a jury if the case goes to trial.
Defense lawyer Ken Padowitz told Local 10 that the VR reenactment allows judges to enter his client’s perspective:
“We put headsets on the judge, the prosecutors, and the witness, and the judge was able to see from my client’s own eyes…”
“… from his own perspective, what he faced when he was surrounded by intoxicated partygoers.”
“They grabbed him, and he felt at that point in time he needed to pull out his weapon to defend his own life and his property.”
Should courtroom hearings allow VR?
Legal analyst David Weinstein told Local 10 that this unique scenario will encourage legal scholars to study it.
He explains that attorneys use fingerprint analysis, DNA evidence, and other methods to make “jurors feel like they were there as the events being litigated took place.”
However, utilizing virtual reality in courtroom hearings will present new challenges.
“Will we be taking away a juror’s ability to figure it out by themselves and reach an independent conclusion?”, he pondered.
“Will this virtual reality simulation replace that process and virtually eliminate the jurors from the decision about the verdict?”
In other words, virtual reality might remove the need for a jury if judges may simply watch a 3D reenactment.
A 2017 Google News Lab study shows that virtual reality “can create a powerful emotional connection between audiences and subjects.”
“The sense of authenticity leaves audiences vulnerable to traumatizing content or manipulation.”
In other words, an immersive virtual experience could affect a judge’s emotions and decisions.
Nevertheless, Albisu’s lawyer says he wants the judges to admit the VR videos as evidence if the case goes before a jury.
He also said the courtroom hearing will resume in February if additional witnesses remain.