The Florida Supreme Court approved new amendments effective Oct. 1 to the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, including nixing the visual recording of adult deponents unless the court ordered it, or the parties and the deponent agreed upon it.

Alex Saiz, the director of legal services at the Florida Justice Center and a former Miami-Dade assistant public defender for nearly a decade, said the videotaping of depositions should be the rule by default. He said the problem in cross-examinations is that a witness could provide testimony different than what the witness said in their deposition. However, without the videotaping of the deposition, the witness can claim the transcript was wrong.

Alex Saiz, director of legal services at Florida Justice Center. (Credit: Courtesy photo)