Re: Why not use a screen and wireless keyboard?
Because lawyers are also officers of the court. While the proceedings are adversarial, they are not without scruples.
Plus their license to practice law in that state could be on the line for any shenanigans detected by Apple after the devices are returned.
And we're talking about Apple here, not Fazio Mechanical Services. I'm sure these are self-contained laptops and have some decent auditing cranked up on them.