iPods and courts

The U.S. District Court in Toledo is allowing the use of iPods by defense attorneys and their clients in a federal drug case. The Toledo Blade article ("Defense to use iPods to review evidence ..." Jan. 17, 2006) details the practical reasons for bringing iPods in for listening to over 100 hours of evidence:

13 CDs of wiretaps are condensed and downloaded into the iPods

defendants are in scattered locations but can easily access the information

the devices are easy to use and ensure that the recordings cannot be reproduced, a concern of the court

access to the devices are controlled out of the clerk's office in the federal court

the cost to the taxpayer is minimal as compared to other methods of formatting information