Orange County trial technician & hot-seat services.

One specialist, from preparation to the hot seat

For an Orange County trial, the engagement can include:

• Exhibits ready to retrieve. Build or review the database against counsel’s exhibit list, with checked document numbers, page references and saved callouts.
• Testimony ready to review. Sync deposition video, prepare designated clips and revise them as counsel’s instructions change.
• A dedicated hot-seat operator. Display exhibits, enlarge passages and play cleared clips at counsel’s cue.
• A courtroom plan. Agree on equipment, connections, setup time and backup coverage before trial.

The assigned specialist is identified before preparation begins. Jolie Zajac leads the firm and takes assignments as her calendar permits. Her trial presentation work since 2018 includes 100+ trials nationwide; she holds the OnCue Advanced User Certification. Meet Jolie or explore our OnCue preparation and courtroom support.

Start with the date and the work you need

1. Check the calendar. Share the trial date, court or department, expected length and whether you need preparation, a hot-seat operator or both.
2. Agree on the scope. Confirm the named specialist, preparation schedule, equipment and travel arrangements.
3. Prepare and rehearse. Once confidentiality terms are agreed, transfer the materials, review the presentation and check playback before courtroom use.

Check availability for your Orange County trial. No case files are needed for the first inquiry. For planning, see what shapes the cost of trial presentation.

Orange County courthouses for civil jury trials

On the Superior Court’s current civil schedules, trial departments sit in four buildings, and the department prefix tells you which: C, CX, N or W. The federal courthouse is in Santa Ana.

Assignments change. Confirm the courtroom with the court and read the department’s posted procedures on the court’s Unlimited Civil and Complex Civil schedule pages before planning equipment.

Complex cases at the Civil Complex Center

The court’s Complex Civil fact sheet describes Civil Complex Center courtrooms built for laptops and electronic display, with a bench switch that blanks the screens, and says attorneys may provide, or partner with a vendor of their choice to provide, computer equipment there. Confirm the current setup with the department.

Departments CX102 and CX105 typically hold a pretrial conference about 30 days before trial, with Local Rule 317 materials due five days (CX105: five court days) before it. CX102 takes up electronic presentation and equipment at that conference, and requires advance notice and court permission before video exhibits, PowerPoint, demonstratives or videotaped depositions are used. For the presentation:

• Exhibit volume. In a two-party case, CX102 numbers plaintiff’s exhibits from 1 and defendant’s from 200, with agreed ranges when more are needed. The database should mirror those ranges.
• Database structure. CX102 requires every page of each exhibit to be separately and consecutively numbered; database page references should match.
• Designations at scale. CX102 wants designations highlighted on a hard-copy transcript by the Issue Conference, counterdesignations in a different color, and prompt rulings so video can be edited to remove objections and attorney argument. See deposition video clips for trial.

What Local Rule 317 means for exhibit preparation

Orange County Local Rule 317 sets pretrial requirements for civil cases over $35,000:

• Issue Conference (317.A). At least 14 days before trial, the parties exchange exhibits (other than impeachment or rebuttal only), try to stipulate to admissibility and foundation, and exchange MILs.
• Joint Trial Notebook (317.B). Due to the trial department by noon on the Wednesday before trial, including a Joint Exhibit List with columns for marked and entered.
• Exhibit notebooks (317.C). On the trial date, two sets, the witness set pre-marked with court exhibit tags, each exhibit carrying a discrete number that matches the Joint Exhibit List.

For the hot seat, that list is the index. Database IDs, binder tabs and exhibit tags should carry the same numbers, and every later change must reach all three. Several departments also require numbers-only IDs and page numbers on multi-page exhibits. The trial presentation preparation checklist covers the handoff. This is a planning summary, not legal advice; confirm current requirements with the court.

Electronic Evidence Portal courtrooms

Five Central Justice Center departments, C15, C16, C24, C25 and C27, pilot the court’s Electronic Evidence Portal for court and jury trials. Under the Civil Unlimited Electronic Evidence Protocol (revised July 1, 2026), unless the judge excuses it for good cause:

• Exhibits other than impeachment exhibits are uploaded, and shared with opposing counsel in the Portal’s Virtual Viewing Room, at least 14 days before trial. The final set is due by noon on the Wednesday before trial.
• Exhibit numbers are numbers only, in the ranges agreed at the Issue Conference.
• Counsel display exhibits from laptops made available at counsel table, connected to the courtroom equipment.
• No new uploads after trial starts without the court’s permission.

Each department’s order and stipulation adds that video and audio play in native format, other files display as PDF, and admitted exhibits go to the jury room on a USB drive that counsel review. Procedures differ: C16 keeps demonstratives and videotaped depositions out of the Portal, and parties allowed to use them supply their own equipment. A Portal courtroom can still need a presentation system; confirm the plan with the department.

Federal trials in Santa Ana

The Central District of California’s Southern Division sits in the Ronald Reagan Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse. The court’s courtroom technology page shows why the courtroom number matters:

• District judge courtrooms 9C and 10A list HDMI and USB-C connections at each counsel table and the lectern, additional connections for trial technicians with the judge’s prior approval, three 75-inch displays and a jury deliberation room with a 65-inch display and computer.
• Other district and magistrate judge courtrooms list one VGA input per counsel table with 3.5 mm audio, so plan adapters and the audio path.
• Every Santa Ana courtroom has a document camera.

The court encourages use of its own equipment; attorneys supply their own technical help, and the court is not responsible for compatibility issues with outside equipment. The judge and courtroom deputy control what reaches the jury. Under L.R. 83-6.5, electronic devices stay off in courtrooms unless the court approves otherwise in advance. Under L.R. 16-6.1, an exhibit numbered at a deposition keeps that number at trial, so expect gaps in the sequence. Confirm with the courtroom deputy:

• A test or training session, booked one to three weeks ahead and no later than three days before.
• Approval for the presentation laptops and any trial technician connection.
• Special equipment, and the format for admitted exhibits going to the jury room.

Equipment, tech check and war room

The Superior Court’s evidence presentation equipment page says most courtrooms have an overhead projector and wall-mounted screen, HDMI ports and a document camera, with VGA or HDMI floor inputs for counsel’s own equipment. Counsel bring their own cables and adapters and check availability with the courtroom clerk, as early as possible. Department orders add terms: North Justice Center Department N16 requires permission before video or other equipment is used, makes counsel responsible for it working, and will not delay trial for technical difficulties.

We plan for that: a test window through the clerk or courtroom deputy, adapters for the room’s inputs, jury box sightlines where access permits, agreed backup arrangements, and time for security. Superior Court buildings x-ray every hand-carried item; federal security screens electronic devices. War-room support is scoped separately; see courtroom technology and war-room planning.

Plan your Orange County trial

Send the trial date, court, department and expected length. Tell us whether you need exhibit preparation, a hot-seat operator, deposition clips or equipment. We reply personally within 24 hours.

Check availability or call (949) 619-7006. No case files are needed yet; confidentiality terms are agreed before you send materials.