Jeffrey P. Drake, B.In.Dsn.

Demonstrative Evidence Expert

Education and Training
I studied industrial design at the Philadelphia College of Art (now University of the Arts) and earned a Bachelor of Industrial Design degree from Syracuse University in 1979. My studies also included architectural design and building construction at the Boston Architectural College.

Academic training in engineering drawing, exhibit design, graphic design, three-dimensional design, product development, industrial materials and processes, building design, and architectural graphics provided an excellent foundation for my demonstrative evidence and forensic art consulting practice.

Site Documentation 
On-the-ground experience documenting fire and accident scenes, and working with investigators and attorneys to capture the information necessary to reconstruct scenes provides me with a level of experience not attainable in any other way.  When the demonstrative evidence specialist documents a fire or accident scene, they are collecting data always with the purpose of creating trial exhibits to present the situation to a jury. The process involves thinking in terms of, “What information will I need from this site in order to recreate it?” 

Scene Reconstruction
Drake Exhibits produces 3D reconstructions of fire and accident scenes, including those from documentation only, when original site conditions no longer exist. Reconstructions are created using Computer Aided Drafting (CAD) software. The resulting 3D computer model is produced to scale and can be used to create sophisticated graphic images, technical drawings, 3D perspective views, animations, and blueprints for physical scale model production.

Exhibit Design and Production
I create litigation graphics, animations, and scale models that powerfully and credibly communicate complex cases. I work closely with clients to conceptualize and produce the form of demonstrative evidence that best explains and presents the circumstances, facts, and complexities of each case.

Attorneys win cases when using demonstrative evidence to:

Convey critical information about a physical site

Recreate sites unavailable for a jury view

Educate judge and jury about complex situations   or processes

Focus viewer attention and improve retention of   important case points

Support expert witness testimony

Present a clear and persuasive case