Mary Susan McElroy

Courtwide

Presentation Procedure

Courtwide presentation-related guidance applies to this judge.

The parties, counsel, witnesses, and jurors (if applicable) will not be physically present in the courtroom. All phases of the trial from empanelment to evidence presentation to jury deliberations will occur by video. Attorneys should note that the ZoomGov platform is a secure system that is separate from the commercial or free version of Zoom…

Video%20Trial%20Handbook%20for%20Attorneys.pdf ↗

Courtwide

Courtroom Technology

Courtwide presentation-related guidance applies to this judge.

Requirements for Electronic Exhibit File Types . All electronic evidence should be provided using the following formats: . Documents: .pdf .

Exhibits | District of Rhode Island | United States District Court ↗

Courtwide

Civil Remote Testimony

In federal district-court civil proceedings, testimony is ordinarily taken in open court; remote contemporaneous testimony requires good cause in compelling circumstances and appropriate safeguards.

For good cause in compelling circumstances and with appropriate safeguards, the court may permit testimony in open court by contemporaneous transmission from a different location.

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court ↗

Courtwide

Criminal Recording And Broadcasting

Federal district courts may not permit courtroom photography or broadcasting during criminal judicial proceedings unless a statute or another federal rule provides an exception.

Except as otherwise provided by a statute or these rules, the court must not permit the taking of photographs in the courtroom during judicial proceedings or the broadcasting of judicial proceedings from the courtroom.

Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited ↗