Templates
Courtroom technology checklist template
Courtroom technology fails in a small number of predictable ways: the wrong adapter, a display that will not mirror, a notification on the evidence screen, a laptop that sleeps, text nobody in the back row can read. Every one of them is cheap to prevent the week before and expensive to discover at 9:30 on a Monday.
This sheet is the equipment half of trial preparation. The document half sits in the trial preparation checklist, and the long-form setup walkthrough is in courtroom laptop setup. The worked notes come from the fictional Smith v. Jones matter.
Technology sheet — Smith v. Jones, courtroom 4B
| Item | Done / notes |
|---|---|
| Confirm what the courtroom provides and who to call | Deputy confirmed HDMI at counsel table, evidence monitor for jury |
| Pack the adapters that match, plus one spare | USB-C to HDMI tested, VGA adapter in the spare bag |
| Test mirrored display end to end | Booked walkthrough 2026-04-13, 08:15 |
| Silence every notification and disable automatic updates | Focus mode profile saved as Trial |
| Set power so nothing sleeps while plugged in | Screen never sleeps, lid action set to nothing |
| Check readability from the back row | Fit width at 130 percent legible on the ledger |
| Activate the license before leaving the office | Done 2026-04-10, both laptops activated |
| Load the trial on the second laptop from a backup | Backup restored and opened, 8 exhibits present |
| Dry run the first fifteen minutes with the actual keyboard | Not started |
Fill the first row by asking rather than assuming. A two-minute call to the courtroom deputy answers the connector, whether the jury sees a separate monitor, and whether an equipment walkthrough is available. Everything else on the sheet depends on that answer, which is why it sits at the top. Take the sheet with you: the version that stayed on the desk has never helped anyone in a courtroom.
Equipment and setup checklist
- Ask the courtroom deputy which connector the evidence display takes and whether a walkthrough slot is available.
- Pack an adapter for that connector, a spare of the same kind, and a spare cable.
- Bring the laptop charger plus an extension lead and a three-way adapter.
- Charge the laptop to full the night before and travel with it charged.
- Set the display to mirror rather than extend unless you have a reason to extend.
- Turn on do not disturb, quit chat and mail clients, and disconnect from anything that pops up.
- Disable automatic updates and restarts for the trial period.
- Set the screen and the machine never to sleep while on mains power.
- Close every other application so a stray window cannot appear on the evidence screen.
- Pick a zoom mode that keeps body text readable from the furthest seat and test it there.
- Check that the projector or monitor colors do not wash out a highlight.
- Have the exhibits available on a second laptop and on a plain USB drive as PDFs.
- Keep a printed exhibit list and printed copies of the most important exhibits at counsel table.
- Run the first fifteen minutes of your examination end to end without stopping.
- Write down who fixes technical problems during trial so nobody improvises.
How to fill it in
Treat the sheet as a sequence of physical actions, each with a yes or no answer. An item that cannot be answered yes or no is written too loosely. Check the laptop is fine is not an item. Screen never sleeps on mains power is.
Do the whole thing twice: once in the office a week out, once in the courtroom if you can get in. The office pass finds the missing adapter while there is still time to buy one. The courtroom pass finds the things that only exist in that room, such as a monitor mounted where the witness cannot see it.
Record results, not intentions. Tested 08:15 with deputy, worked is a note that still means something three days later.
Adapting it to your court
Courtrooms differ enormously, from a room with a built-in evidence system and a technician on call to a room with a rolling television and an extension lead. Lines worth adding when they apply: an entry for the building's equipment request form; the security policy on bringing in laptops, drives and cameras; whether wireless is available and whether you are permitted to use it; whether a courtroom technician must make the connections; and any rule about recording or photographing the display.
Remote and hybrid hearings need their own lines for the platform, the screen-share test and a dial-in fallback; remote hearing exhibits covers that setup.
What is permitted and what is provided vary by court and jurisdiction, so treat none of these lines as a rule. Ask, then write down the answer you were given and who gave it.
Using it with Exhibit Room
Several lines are easier because the app is local-first. Your case documents stay on your computer, and the app works offline, so courthouse wifi is irrelevant to whether an exhibit opens. The internet is needed once to activate a license and occasionally to re-check it, which is why activating before you travel sits on the sheet; the app will not lock in the middle of work because it is offline.
For the readability and rehearsal lines, presentation mode shows only the page, the exhibit number and name, and the page counter, each of which can be hidden in Settings, with a light or dark background. Zoom, fit page and fit width are on the keyboard, along with page navigation and the exhibit switcher; see keyboard navigation for the full set, which is the list to rehearse with.
Two honest points. Mirroring means the audience sees exactly what you see, because Exhibit Room has no separate presenter view on a second screen. And the app has no equipment report to print, so this checklist stays a sheet of paper in the bag.
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