Naomi Mezey, a Professor at Georgetown University, presented “The Image Cannot Speak for Itself: Visual Representation, Truth and Law” at the Valparaiso University Law School. The presentation was this year’s Seegers Lecture on Jurisprudence.

The presentation focused on the Supreme Court’s decision to allow film footage to “speak for itself” and provide the basis for summary judgment as ruled in Scott v. Harris. Mezey cited the need for visual jurisprudence when analyzing images in the courtroom. Videos do not allow for cross-examination the way that eyewitnesses do and perception of any event varies from juror to juror.

In Mezey’s words, images have “multiple realities and multiple truths.” They can be manipulated in a variety of ways to tell a different story than what may be the reality of a case. She supported her argument by showing clips from the actual footage viewed during Scott v. Harris. It only presents evidence from the perspective of law enforcement and, thus, does not provide an accurate depiction of the event. She also provided examples from the taped confession of Bernard Goetz and the film Minority Report to stress that reliance upon an image as truth is naïve.

Mezey graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1992 and Stanford Law School in 1995. She is currently a law professor at Georgetown University focusing on legal theory, translation and statutory interpretation. She previously served as a law clerk for Judge Marilyn Hall Patel of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California and a legislative aide to Senator Alan Cranston.

The Seegers Lecture Series is sponsored by the late Edward A. Seegers, who made numerous contributions to Valparaiso University. He was named an honorary member of the Valparaiso University Alumni Association in 1977. Among his many contributions is a fully endowed law school chair in honor of his parents, Louis and Anna Seegers, which is currently held by Professor Bruce Berner.