A Douglas County, Ga., judge ventured into new technological and legal territory during a recent criminal trial by allowing a witness to testify from Texas via Skype, the internet-based video-phone service, after the defense attorney said his client could not afford to bring the witness to Georgia.
Douglas County Assistant District Attorney Nedal S. Shawkat opposed the use of Skype, arguing among other things that the confrontation clauses of the U.S. and Georgia constitutions require in-person testimony at trial.
