Q: Ho do I submit a video into evidence at a no jury criminal court case
The video was taken by the attending officer's body cam. The video was sent to me from the prosecutor of this case.
A:
If you have an attorney, you will want to ask your trial attorney. Ultimately, this is a tough question to answer because it involves going through the rules of evidence that us lawyers learn from law school and experience. Basically to use the body cam as evidence you will want to request the court clerk mark it as an exhibit and eventually request to admit the evidence at trial. You would likely do this when the officer is on the stand. Successfully doing this can be very tricky for someone not experienced with the rules of evidence or trial.
If you do not have an attorney and you are able to afford hiring an attorney, I strongly recommend you consider hiring an attorney experienced in criminal trials. Many firms, including mine, will offer a free consultation to discuss your options before you make the decision to have an attorney.
If you are not going to hire an attorney, you should at least observe a criminal non-jury trial ideally in the court where your case is at so you have an idea how the lawyers are using evidence.
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