…… How to show dash cam video in small claims court

[kiawahman]

I have a need to show some video off my dash cam in small claims court but need to know how. There are reasonably priced video projectors available online, $60 and up, some even come with a folded cloth or plastic screen, but the screen still needs to be hung on something. I am open to suggestions.

If you don't currnetly have a dash cam in your vehicle I strongly suggest you get one. Mine has been working for 5 years now and this is the first time I really needed it. It is often the only way to prove what really happened, especially without an eye witness.

 

[summerthyme]

Maybe an artists tripod easel with a piece of white poster board on it... project the image with the projector?

Summerthyme

 

[Dennis Olson]

Pull the memory card from the dash cam, and insert it into the PC. Play the vid from the PC.

 

[kiawahman]

I downloaded video from the micro Scan Disc in the dash cam and have made copies onto DVDs, but I would think one large screen for everyone to view at one time would be required.
Perhaps the projector and easel idea would work best. I'll contact the court tomorrow to see if they have a screen, and maybe a projector. I can't be the first to need them.

 

[Dennis Olson]

You need to contact the court and see if it provides equipment.

 

[WildernessGirl]

I don’t know, but if you have the time, go sit in the back of some cases in traffic court (or whatever it is called) and see how they present video evidence.

 

[dawgofwar10]

Get a regulation Clown Car, load the Judge & Jury into it… Next roll up the widows and play the video back until everyone agrees… And it works better when you lock the accused into the trunk!!!

 

[kiawahman]

I found out that all one needs to do is let the court clerk know a week ahead of time. The judge will most likely have a lap top computer connected to a large viewing screen in the court room. They will require you to drop off your video evidence, preferrably on a USB thumb drive or USB memory card reader, so they can check it out for viruses beforehand, (the court needs to have the original recording if at all possible).

Figured it had to be easy, so much of our lives is recorded these days.

 

[Dennis Olson]

So let me get this straight. All the angst and thrashing you engaged in was because you didn’t want to make a phone call to the actual agency that would be handling your event, and 10 minutes could have saved you all that anxiety.

Got it.

 

[kiawahman]

Oh, I watched a ton of videos on YouTube, made dozens of carefully worded searches on the open internet where I learned boatloads of useless information, asked numerous friends and relatives, but somehow avoided the most obvious step a logical minded person should have made - call the court... guilty.

 

[Dennis Olson]

Like I drilled into my kids’ heads all during their childhood:

WORK THE PROBLEM

 

[kiawahman]

But wait... After dropping off the ScanDisk and disc reader with the court clerk yesterday, I get a call this morning from someone else at the court saying they will no longer allow anything to be plugged into the court's computer system, not even for the IT personel to check it to be sure it contains no virus. Apparently the judge and the clerk had no current knowledge of this change. I have to provide the means to show the video myself, a laptop or notebook are acceptable, (at least according to the person I talked to today).

Misinformation is a plague on humanity, not just in the media, but it seems to be prevalent everywhere you turn these days. Just "working the problem" by itself isn't good enough when everyone around you has their heads in a dark stinky place.

 

[Dennis Olson]

Now you’re creating a conspiracy where none exists. Probably want to not do that.

 

[kiawahman]

Not a conspiracy, just the facts. A blend of workers who don't want to work, comfortable with their incompetence and laziness, yielding an overriding blend of misinformation and distrust.