How Can You Convert a Witness-Marked Foam Board into a Digital Trial Exhibit?

A witness-marked foam board can be photographed and loaded into a trial-presentation system, where each annotated digital iteration can be preserved as a separately identified snapshot.

Quick Answer

Photograph the original witness-marked foam board and load that image into the trial-presentation system. The physical board remains the original exhibit; the photograph becomes the source image used for digital presentation.

Each time an arrow, text, highlight, callout, or other digital annotation is added, create and save a new snapshot. Identify the snapshots sequentially—for example, Exhibit 1-A, Exhibit 1-B, and Exhibit 1-C—and mark each one for identification so there is a preserved record of exactly what appeared on the screen.

Those saved snapshots can then be retrieved and republished during later testimony or closing argument without attempting to recreate the presentation.

Key Takeaways

• Photograph the complete physical board and preserve the unaltered source image.
• The foam board remains the original exhibit; the photograph becomes the source image for digital presentation.
• Create and save a new snapshot each time a digital annotation changes.
• Identify every snapshot separately so the precise screen version can be retrieved and republished.
• Describe each digital change aloud so the transcript identifies what was displayed, subject to the judge’s procedures.

Bring the Witness-Marked Foam Board into the Presentation System

Begin with the witness-marked foam board that was used during testimony. The foam board is the original exhibit. If it has been marked as Exhibit 1, it remains Exhibit 1.

Photograph the original foam board and load that photograph into the trial-presentation system. The photograph provides the digital version of the original exhibit that can be enlarged and displayed on the courtroom screen. It does not replace or change the original foam-board exhibit.

Once the image is in the presentation system, counsel may add an arrow, text, a highlight, a callout, or another digital annotation to direct attention to a particular part of the exhibit.

Create and save a snapshot each time the digital presentation changes. A snapshot preserves exactly what appeared on the screen at that moment. This is important because digital annotations can be added, removed, or changed as the presentation develops.

Each time a snapshot is created or displayed, make a clear verbal record identifying the original exhibit, the digital annotation that was added, and the snapshot label. The saved snapshot preserves what appeared on the screen; the spoken description preserves in the transcript what changed and which version was shown.

For example:

• Exhibit 1: The original foam-board exhibit
• Exhibit 1-A: Digital snapshot with the first arrow or marking
• Exhibit 1-B: Digital snapshot with an additional text label
• Exhibit 1-C: Digital snapshot with a highlight or callout
• Exhibit 1-D: Digital snapshot showing the completed presentation

Each digital iteration may or may not become a separately admitted exhibit. It should nevertheless be marked for identification so there is a preserved record of precisely what was displayed.

Saving each version separately also allows counsel to republish the exact digital presentation later. During another witness’s testimony or in closing argument, the trial team can retrieve Exhibit 1-A, 1-B, or 1-C without attempting to recreate the arrows, text, highlights, or callouts from memory.

The original foam board remains the exhibit. The separately identified snapshots preserve the different digital ways that exhibit was presented to the jury.

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