News from the California courts, digital recording technology advances, smartphone language interpretation, the NCRA, Social Security Number replacement, Mississippi court rules, a conference in New Zealand and a useful Dutch Legal Technology newsletter/blog, and a good CTC 2017 summary.
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California Judicial Branch Technology Summit
Posted on August 31, 2017 for the Judicial Council of California:
We learned from a Judicial Council of California August 31, 2017 press release that “More than 150 court officials gather at Judicial Branch Technology Summit. They write:
“For most Californians, making a video call from a smartphone or using voice recognition technology have become second nature.
So could we soon see that kind of technology in our courtrooms?
Last week, more than 150 judges, court managers and IT professionals came together in Sacramento at the Judicial Branch Technology Summit to find new ways to harness technologies to offer better service and access to the public.
“We are building for a new group of users,” California Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye told the crowd. “For the branch’s survival, it means we have to go outside our comfort zone.”
Courts moving online
Today, nearly half of California’s 58 trial courts have technology that allows litigants to file and manage cases electronically, with many more poised to launch e-filing services soon. Nearly all of California’s appellate courts have implemented e-filing, with the Second District Court of Appeal slated to come online later this year.
In the Orange County Superior Court, where three-quarters of cases are now filed online, the technology has been a “game changer,” said David Yamasaki, the court’s executive officer. In addition to easier filing and retrieval of documents by the public, e-filing enabled the court to better cope with budget cuts that required the court to reduce staff by 25%, Yamasaki said.
But e-filing is just one of part of the California judicial branch’s move to a digital court.
Coming next: chatbots, court via videoconference
Alexandra Grimwade of Twentieth Century Fox Television gave a private industry perspective.
At the conference, California Supreme Court Associate Justice Ming Chin led a spirited discussion about how to carry out recommendations from the Chief Justice’s Commission on the Future of California's Court System. The proposals include: remote appearances for most non-criminal court proceedings; voice-to-text language interpretation services; and self-help chatbots to address basic questions and direct users to more comprehensive services.
“I can call my 5-year-old grandson and see him on my phone,” Chin quipped. “How can we use that technology to make it easier for citizens to use our courtrooms?”
Pilot projects in these areas have already shown promise. In Los Angeles, “Gina”–Los Angeles Superior Court's online traffic avatar—speaks six languages, and the Fresno Superior Court has experimented with allowing its rural residents to attend traffic court via videoconference.
“Our charge is really about improving access–it’s not a trivial thing,” said Snorri Ogata, chief information officer for the Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Looking ahead to 2023
The conference came as the judicial branch begins work to set its technology vision and priorities for the next five years.
Judge Sheila Hanson, chair of the Judicial Council’s Information Technology Advisory Committee, said bringing together technology minds from courts across the state—from Modoc to San Diego Counties—was key to leveraging the resources and information needed to help the branch meet its technology goals.
“I’m tremendously inspired by all the great work courts are doing, and the sense of collaboration is very encouraging,” Hanson said. “There’s a joint desire to move us all forward.”
Important FTR Announcements
One of the leading companies in digital court recording technology made some announcements at last month’s CTC 2017 conference. According to their press release: “FTR demonstrated an upcoming new release of its flagship recording product – FTR Gold v6, including a fully featured FTR Touch all-in-one recording PC, a world-first FTR blockchain verified recording application, and the company’s next generation Court.fm unlocking a powerful text based search of digital court recordings.”
They further state:
‘The world-first FTR Verified Recordings solution uses blockchain technology to secure the capture, storage, distribution and playback of case recordings.
“We have deployed blockchain technology to protect the integrity of the digital court record. This will ensure FTR court recordings are protected and independently verifiable as to their authenticity and integrity. Court recordings produced with the new technology will be accompanied by a unique encrypted digital signature registered into the blockchain. Whenever those recordings are played back via an FTR online service, such as Court.fm or FTR Web Player, they will be automatically verified against the FTR blockchain. The encrypted digital signature can even be independently validated through other blockchain services without compromising any information within the recording.”
Smartphone Language Translation
In an article by Arstechnica.com, “Google debuted new wireless earbuds, dubbed "Pixel Buds." These are Google's first wireless earbuds that are built to be used with Pixel smartphones, but they also give users access to Google Translate so they can have conversations with people who speak a different language…”
“The most intriguing feature of the Pixel Buds is the integrated Google Translate feature. Demoed on stage at Google's event today, this feature lets two Pixel Bud wearers chat in their native languages by translating conversations in real time. In the demo, a native English speaker and a native Swedish speaker had a conversation with each other, both using their native languages. Google Translate translated the languages for each user. There was barely any lag time in between the speaker saying a phrase and the Buds' hearing those words and translating them into the appropriate language.
The Pixel Buds will use Google Translate to comprehend conversations in 40 different languages. This is a unique feature that only a company like Google could integrate into wireless earbuds, thanks to the existing Google Translate data and infrastructure.”
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| Google Pixel Phone "Buds" |
NCRA Announces new CEO
The National Court Reporters Association (https://www.ncra.org/ ) announced “that Marcia C. Ferranto, a nonprofit executive with more than 25 years of experience, has accepted the position of NCRA CEO and Executive Director. We are very excited about her experience and her vast knowledge in the areas of leadership, relationship building, membership growth, and finance.
Ferranto brings energy and passion that is contagious. Her respect for members and staff, her intelligence and financial acumen, and her fresh ideas grabbed the attention of the Board.
Prior to joining NCRA, Ferranto served as President and CEO of the Women’s Transportation Seminar International and the Women’s Transportation Seminar Foundation in Washington, D.C. During her tenure with WTS, she worked closely nationally and internationally with the U.S. Departments of Transportation and Labor as well as federal, state, and local officials.”
US Government Examining Alternative to Social Security Numbers as Identifier
In another Arstechnica.com article, “Rob Joyce, the White House cybersecurity czar, said on Tuesday that the government should end using the Social Security number as a national identification method.
"I believe the Social Security number has outlived its usefulness," said Joyce, while speaking at The Washington Post's Cybersecurity Summit. "Every time we use the Social Security number, you put it at risk."
One problem with the Social Security number, he said, is that a victim of identity theft cannot get it changed after it has been stolen.”
Mississippi Amends Rules of Appellate Procedure to Allow Electronic Transfer of Exhibits
Effective October 2, 2017, Rule 11 of the Mississippi Rules of Appellate Procedure has been amended to allow trial court clerks to transfer exhibits electronically. The rule is available at: https://courts.ms.gov/Images/Opinions/214177.pdf
Currently, only MEC chancery courts have Appeal Auto Record Transfer functionality and will be able to transfer exhibits electronically.
New Zealand Online Dispute Resolution Forum Announced
We heard from David Harvey that the NZ Centre for ICT Law is hosting the prestigious Online Dispute Resolution Forum at the University of Auckland on 15 – 16 February 2018.
Our introductory web page may be found at http://odr2018.org.nz/?page_id=2 and a call for papers is in the process of being sent out.
The ODR forum website may be found at: http://odr.info/
He also warns that for those in the Northern Hemisphere should know that February is high summer in New Zealand.
Dutch Legal Tech Review Newsletter (in English)
Thanks to Judge Dory Reiling we learned about this great compendium website: https://www.getrevue.co/profile/DutchLegalTech
It describes itself as “handpicked articles, resources, tools, and conversations from the world of Legal Tech.” Lots of great information available including an interesting startup called Persuit.com that automates legal services RFP’s.
Another welcomed CTC 2017 Highlight Article
And last, posted on the Legal Executive Institute web page, “Court Technology Conference: Seeing the New Tech Tools that Court Disrupt Courts by Sean La Roque-Doherty".
A good summary of various technologies shown in Salt Lake City. Well done.
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