Jury Evidence Recording System (JERS)
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma uses the Jury Evidence
Recording System (JERS) to capture evidence electronically during a trial. The
evidence that is captured is for use only in jury deliberations. It allows jurors to view
admitted exhibits electronically during their deliberations.
How to Submit Electronic Exhibit Files Electronic evidence files shall be provided to
the courtroom deputy on a USB drive in an unencrypted format. USB drives are
required because courtroom deputies no longer have disk drives with their laptops.
USB drives may be returned after trial, upon request.
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 500
MB. 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 resolution or dimensions, usually with minimal affect to
viewing quality.
Exhibit Formatting Instructions for Batch Importing Exhibit files must be formatted
in a manner that permits them to be batch imported into the JERS system. The method
to be used is described below. Exhibits that are not formatted correctly will be
returned to you to be re-formatted prior to trial.
File Naming Method
• All files are provided on a single storage device (USB drive).
• Using any software or method, exhibit files are renamed using a naming convention
similar to:
<exhibit number>-<exhibit part>_<exhibit description>.<file extension>
• The “underscore” character is required right before the description of the exhibit 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”, “12(a)_camera footage.wmv”
Do not make the exhibit description exceptionally long. This will confuse the system.
Also, keep in mind that your exhibit description is what the jurors will see as the
name of the exhibit.
