Jury Evidence Recording System (JERS)

     
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina uses the Jury Evidence Recording System (JERS) to capture evidence electronically during a trial. The Court provides evidence presentation equipment to any member of the bar practicing within the western district of North Carolina. A training session on the use of this equipment can be requested here .
How to Submit Electronic Exhibit Files Electronic evidence files shall be provided on a USB drive, DVD, or CD, in an unencrypted format.
Requirements for Exhibit File Types All electronic evidence must be provided using the following formats:

• Documents and Photographs: .pdf, .jpg, .bmp, .tif, .gif
• Video and Audio Recordings: .avi, .wmv, .mpg, .mp3, .mp4, .wma, .wav, .3gpp 

Regarding the file size of electronic evidence, individual files should not exceed 500MB. If possible, exhibits approaching or exceeding this size limit should be separated into multiple files. Note, PDF documents can often be reduced significantly in size by using tools such as Adobe's "Reduce File Size" feature. Images can be significantly reduced in file size by lowering its resolution or dimensions, usually with minimal affect to viewing quality.
Exhibit Formatting Instructions for Batch Importing Exhibit files can be formatted in a manner that permits them to be batch imported into the JERS system. The two methods used are described below. One of these two methods must be used.

 
A. Indexed File Method
• All files are provided on a single storage device such as a CD, DVD, or USB drive.
• Along with the exhibit files, a text delimited index file named Exhibits.txt is also required.
• The Exhibits.txt file must contain the following "pipe" delimited layout:
 Exhibit Number(optional Sub-Part) | Exhibit Description | Exhibit File Name (must match file name on disk) 
  (a sample Exhibits.txt file can be viewed here)

B. File Naming Method
• All files are provided on a single storage device such as a CD, DVD, or USB drive.
• Using any software or method, exhibit files are renamed using a naming convention simliar to:
  (exhibit number)-(exhibit part)_(exhibit description).(file extension)
• The use of the “underscore” character is required when an optional description of the exhibit is included and cannot be used elsewhere in the exhibit name.
• Example listing of valid exhibit file names:
  “1-a_photograph.jpg”, “12_2009 Tax Statement.pdf”, “35d.pdf”, “12(a)_camera footage.wmv”
  (a sample listing of exhibit files using the File Name method can be viewed here.