THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Wednesday, March 15, 1995              TAG: 9503150414
SECTION: BUSINESS                 PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY LON WAGNER, STAFF WRITER 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   48 lines

SIMPSON DEFENSE, PROSECUTORS USING LOCAL FIRM'S EQUIPMENT

O.J. Simpson, Robert Shapiro, Marcia Clark and company have drawn a Hampton Roads company into what many call the trial of the century. But nView Corp. won't take sides - in fact, it's working both ends of the famous Los Angeles courtroom.

Projection technology developed by Newport News-based nView is helping prosecutor Clark and defense attorneys Shapiro and Johnnie Cochran prepare their cases.

The company loaned Simpson's multimillion dollar defense team a liquid crystal display projection panel and a Luminator projector to help them work out the kinks of presenting evidence using computer technology. The high-resolution panel sells for $13,995 and the projector sells for $8,995.

``They're doing so much of their presentation with images,'' nViewspokeswoman Krista Lowery said. ``They (Shapiro's team) called our sales line, and when they told us who they were we said, `Yes, let us send you one immediately.' ''

Since nView's equipment isn't being used in the courtroom - like the Sony computer monitor highly visible on Judge Lance Ito's desk - the company's name isn't showing up on televisions throughout the world. But the company figured it wouldn't hurt to get its name out to a group of prominent Los Angeles attorneys.

Howard Harris, a computer consultant for Simpson's defense team, used the nView equipment to teach Shapiro, Cochran and the rest of Simpson's attorneys point-and-click methods of presenting computerized exhibits. The trial lawyers were used to the old method of presenting evidence: passing around photos mounted on foam or pointing at charts on an easel.

``Attorneys used to handling physically bulky exhibits have to become comfortable with the projection of information instead,'' Harris told nView.

Though nView's equipment was used only in training - not in the courtroom - it already has resulted in a sale.

``It was actually a short time later that the prosecution turned around and bought one of our LCD panels,'' Lowery said. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]

O.J. Simpson

by CNB