Overcoming Scheduling Conflicts: The Role of CCam® focus in Successful Hybrid Mock Jury Trials

Unexpected issues such as canceled or delayed flights, calendar changes, and overlapping cases can negatively affect mock jury trial timelines. Planning for these unexpected scenarios and developing contingency plans to mitigate their impact on the project timeline and budget can make a difference in whether a mock trial outcome delivers meaningful findings that can influence the final trial verdict.

At Civicom, we believe technology can provide a powerful solution to these challenges. In this case study, we demonstrate how our CCam® focus platform enabled a successful hybrid mock jury trial that combined the advantages of in-person and virtual participation.

Our focus group facility partner requested an in-person mock jury trial, but due to scheduling conflicts and travel concerns, not all attorneys and deliberation moderators could attend in person.

We were asked if it was possible to stream some of the attorney arguments as well as facilitate deliberation virtually while the mock jurors were physically present in presentation and deliberation groups inside a focus group facility. The challenge was to find a way to deliver a seamless hybrid experience that would meet the client’s expectations while avoiding postponement and respondent fall-outs.

The best choice for fulfilling the needs of this mock trial was to use our in-person research platform, CCam® focus. Civicom Mock Jury Services is in partnership with well over a hundred focus group facilities across the country, including the facility chosen for this mock jury trial.

Our CCam® focus technology kit was already at the venue, and the facility team was familiar with using it, making the technology setup effortless. We were able to stream both in-person and virtual attorney arguments and witness testimonies live in the presentation room and securely broadcast everything to remote observers. Experienced Civicom facilitators were assigned to provide in-the-moment technical assistance and problem-solving as needed.

Thanks to our CCam® focus platform, our expertise in hybrid models, and our comprehensive tech support, our trial consultant team was extremely pleased that the mock jury trial was able to be held on the desired date, with recordings available immediately. Working alongside our facility partner, we successfully created a hybrid experience that allowed the attorneys to present and the trial consultants and observers to communicate remotely.

With our CCam® focus HD 360° streaming solution, the trial consultants and observers were able to absorb critical details from each deliberation session. Our active speaker feature provided focused views of mock jurors as they were talking. Joining with just one click, no download needed, enabled remote viewers to easily participate in the sessions.

The portability and flexibility of our CCam® focus equipment made it adaptable to the requirements of the emerging hybrid approach to mock jury trials. Recordings and transcripts were accessible to trial consultants through Civicom’s integrated Glide Central video and text curation platform, where features such as tagging, clipping, and storyboarding were immensely useful in client report preparation.

We shipped, then remotely set up additional CCam® focus camera kits to accommodate every deliberation room required. Our HD 360° cameras were situated in each room to give observers the best possible view to watch mock jurors and observe their deliberations. Moderators were able to toggle between virtual deliberation rooms to gain insight into how each group was interpreting the case. Moderators were also able to use private online chat to compare notes. Each deliberation room was recorded for reviewing later.

To prepare the attorneys and moderators, we conducted a walkthrough of our CCam® platform. They learned how to view the attendee list, utilize backroom chat, and share files within the platform. A short client runthrough was also done to show moderators how to seamlessly move back and forth between deliberation groups. We also offered and provided a tech check review to the attorneys or witnesses joining remotely.

Even though they were unable to attend the sessions in person, remote viewers felt like they had the best seat in the house. The mock trial was a success. Our hybrid solution presents an efficient way for mock trials to be conducted, while accommodating last-minute changes to achieve outcomes that meet trial consultant and client goals.