Florida Judge Wears VR Headset During Court Case

A Florida judge and other court officials have been using virtual reality headsets during a case so the defense can demonstrate an incident from the defendant's point of view. It's thought to be one, if not the very first, instance of US court officials using virtual reality technology in a court case.

Despite having been available for many years now, virtual reality is still nowhere near as popular or familiar to the general public as standard gaming experiences. The Meta Quest virtual reality series has made major advancements in this regard, introducing affordable and wireless headsets that make the experience much more consumer-friendly, but it's still far from being adopted everywhere. Using VR in a court case is an intriguing development, as it may change the way legal cases are handled in the future.

In Florida, a hearing has been held in a "stand your ground" case to show the moment in question from the defendant's point of view. The defendant's attorney indicates that violence broke out at a wedding venue the defendant owns, leading to him rushing to the scene in an attempt to protect his property, staff, and de-escalate the situation. Instead, he allegedly found himself surrounded by a drunk and aggressive crowd and ended up backed up against a wall. He drew a gun in response, and has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. In order to illustrate the scene, the defense presented a CG recreation of the moment, seen from the defendant's point of view, displayed on Meta Quest 2 headsets.

Virtual Reality Could Change How Trials are Handled

This is thought to be the first time that VR has been used this way, but it might be far from the last. While illustrations, photos, and CG recreations have been utilized in trials to help demonstrate how a moment in time played out, VR uniquely makes a person feel like they're in the moment being displayed on the headset. Most VR users would likely agree that seeing a video of a scene has a completely different impact from being placed inside it with VR, as VR tricks the brain into believing that everything is genuinely happening right in front of the user. The defense attorney hopes that if the case enters a full-fledged jury trial, that the same VR demonstration will be viewed by the jury, as well.

This particular demonstration likely would have been deemed impractical without the wireless capabilities of the Meta Quest VR line. Meta Quests can be simply put on and immediately used anywhere, whereas other VR headsets require a wired connection to a PC, and possibly external trackers to determine where a user is standing and looking. With the potential to create empathy and understanding for a defendant's perspective and mindset through VR experiences like this one, it's possible that Meta could see widespread adoption of its headsets by legal teams in the future.