The purpose of a trial is mared by both determining the truth and conflict resolution. There is also the test of credibility which factors into things as well

Pretrial procedures include the discovery phase and interviews of potential witnesses (called depositions) are part of this process. Attorneys make motions to exclude certain witnesses from the case and the decision on a bench or jury trial is also made at this point

A jury selection (if any), the following occur: 1. Opening statements by attorneys 2. Direct examination of witnesses, cross-examination then redirect and recross of witnesses. Prosecution goes first 3. Presentation of rebuttal witnesses and evidence 4. Closing statements (summations) 5. Judge's instructions to the jury 6. Jury deliberations and announcement of verdict 7. If guilty, determination of the punishment

Things such as videoconferencing, presentation of evidence and computer animations/simulations are all changing along with new technologies. The psychological impact of these implementations have yet to be determined and are the topic of current research being done

Juries tend to be more lenient that judges would be. Judges tend to disagree with juries about 70% of the time and juries were found to be more volatile in their decisions than judges

A bench trial is a trial in which the judge, rather than the jury, makes the decision in terms of the verdict

"Beyond a reasonable doubt" is the standard of proof required in a criminal trial. It generally means that jurors (or the judge) should be strongly convinced that the defendant is guilty before they convict

A closing argument is a summation of evidence, made by an attorney at the end of a trial

The decision rule is the requirement as to whether a jury must reach a unaniumous verdict or whether a majority cote will suffice for a verdict

Experiential flammatory bias is the notion that people who witness the use of virtual environments may be so swept up in the experience and persuaded by the lifelike nature of these scenes that they have difficulty imagining or visualizing a different point of view

Impeachment is the cross-examination of a witness with the purpose of calling into question his or her credibility or reliability

Jury sentiments are factors beyond the evidence and the law that jurors may rely on to decide a case

Opening statements are not part of the evidence but these orations made by the lawyers on each side give an overview of the evidence that will be presented

Perjury is lying while under oath

The preponderance of the evidence is the standard for a verdict in a civil suit; the evidence for one side outweighs that of the other by even a slight margin

Presence is the degree to which a user or observer has the impression actually "being in another world" due to the presentation in the virtual environment

Rebuttal evidence is evidence presented to counter or disprove facts previously introduced by the adverse party

To recross means to cross-examine a witness a second time after redirect examination

In civil cases, a simple slight edge is all that is necessary to rule in one direction or another. In criminal cases, the case of guilt must be made beyond a reasonable doubt

The prosecution is the first and last party to address the judge and jury, it has the full resources of the government at its disposal and the prosecution presents its evidence before the defense

The defense does not bear the burden of proof but only the burden of argument, the prosecution must turn over their evidence and defendants who are found not guilty can never be tried again for that same crime

Juries, instead of judges, determine whether to impose the death penalty or not

The judge will either throw out the charges and the former defendant's record will be expunged from the indicent or the judge will order a retrial

In the case of a trial by jury, proceedural fairness applies when people see the decision reached by juries as being fairer than those reached by judges due to more people being involved and being judged by a "pool of peers" instead of someone with a high-level law degree

75%

20%

Juries tend to be more harsh when awarding damages