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Friday, July 25, 2008

Movie Informs Potential Jurors

By T.J. Wilham
Journal Staff Writer
       Jurors will soon be able to watch a movie before determining someone's guilt or innocence.
    State court officials unveiled a new jury orientation video Thursday that will be shown to potential jurors before being selected for a jury. It's the first time a jury video has been made for the entire state.
    By mid-August, all state courts will strongly be encouraged by the state Supreme Court to show the video to potential jurors before they are selected, state court officials said.
    "What (potential jurors) see on television is sound-bite justice," said New Mexico Supreme Court Chief Justice Edward Chávez. "When they see this video, they see what reality is. A trial doesn't last 60 minutes."
    The video is hosted by KOB-TV anchor Tom Joles and features a history of the jury system, interviews with jurors across the state, reenactments of court proceedings and a step-by-step explanation of how trials work.
    It took three months to make the video, and producers traveled across the state to make it. It cost $40,000 to make and was produced by Albuquerque-based Avista Video Histories. The video also has close captioning in Spanish.
    Metropolitan Court spokeswoman Janet Blair, a former television reporter for KOAT and KRQE, was the executive producer of the video.
    State court officials plan to send copies of the video to high schools across the state, and they are in the process of posting it online and having it aired on public access television.