This and That in Court Technology, October 2020

 

Lots of news this time on court tech.  We note news about the E-Courts Conference agenda, a scientific study of reminder systems impact on court appearances, Rocketlawyer using Utah’s Regulatory Sandbox project to test innovations, why Alexa shouldn’t be installed on your court’s internal computer network, JAVS management software suite announcement,  a company that specializes in work from home setups, ransomware at Tyler Technologies, and an amazing number of Tiny Chats produced by our NCSC colleagues. 

 

 

E-Courts 2020 Agenda Now Online

As with all conferences in 2020, E-Courts is online this year.  The conference date and times (Eastern Standard Time or EST) are:

• December 7, 2020 from 1:00 pm to 4:15 pm EST
• December 8, 2020 from 1:00 pm to 3:30 pm EST
• December 9, 2020 from 1:00 pm to 3:30 pm EST

·You can see the session descriptions here: https://e-courts.org/conference-info/

And do not forget to register... click here.

So, while it isn't as much fun as the in-person gathering is, travel is much easier.

Behavioral nudges reduce failure to appear for court

In an article posted by sciencemag.org, we once again learn that reminder systems work. 

They write: “Each year, millions of Americans fail to appear in court for low-level offenses, and warrants are then issued for their arrest. In two field studies in New York City, we make critical information salient by redesigning the summons form and providing text message reminders. These interventions reduce failures to appear by 13-21% and lead to 30,000 fewer arrest warrants over a 3-year period.”

 Rocket Lawyer imports English model back to the USA

From legalfutures.co.uk we learned in an article posted on October 9, 2020 “Rocket Lawyer imports English model back to US” that “(i)t has It has become one of the first businesses approved by the Utah Supreme Court’s Office of Legal Services Innovation to take part in its regulatory sandbox.”

Rocketlawyer.com (USA home site) provides legal documents and can connect one with lawyers for legal advice. 

 Alexa in the Office

We learned via an article on ZDnet.com that employees are bringing Alexa devices and plugging them into the office computer network.  That article notes that “(t)his study seems to reveal that IT people are being driven demented by the fact that they have no idea what sort of Internet of Things devices are being connected to their corporate networks.”

Needless to say, this is an obvious security issue.

 

JAVS Suite 8 Announced

Our friends at Jefferson Audio-Visual (JAVS) announced their new management product, JAVS Suite 8.  The announcement says: “JAVS Suite 8 is database-centered software for professionals to create, manage, publish, and view digital recordings of critical meeting scenarios such as courtroom proceedings, business meetings, and city council sessions. Wherever a verbatim record is needed.”

For more see: https://www.javs.com/javs-suite-8-av-management-software/

Work from Home Office Provisioning

While this may be a little late for many courts, there are companies that plan and facilitate setting up work from home offices. One such company is Firstbase (https://firstbasehq.com).  As their website says, “Firstbase lets you supply, finance and manage all the physical equipment your remote teams need to do great work at home.”  

 

Tyler Technologies Pays Ransomware

According to this article on Bleepingcomputer.com “Tyler Technologies has paid a ransom for a decryption key to recover files encrypted in a recent ransomware attack.”  They were reportedly “cyberattacked” by the RansomExx ransomware that has hit the Texas Department of Transportation other companies.

Bleepingcomputer.com explains in an earlier article how this ransomware works:

“As this is human-operated ransomware, rather than one distributed via phishing or malware, when executed the ransomware will open a console that displays information to the attacker while it is running.”  And then it does its dirty work that is described.

Please be careful and make security a top priority!

 

More and More NCSC Tiny Chats!

Our NCSC friends Zach Zarnow and Danielle Hirsch have been working diligently all summer and fall to produce an amazing number of Tiny Chat videocasts.  The main page is at:

https://www.ncsc.org/newsroom/public-health-emergency/tiny-chats

Recent Tiny Chat subjects have been:

• 16: Empathy
• 17: Digital Divide: Practical Solutions
• 18: Postal Office Considerations
• 19: Procedural Fairness
• 20: Online Dispute Resolution
• 21: Unbanked
• 22: Goodnight Status Quo
• 23: Navigators
• 24: The Doctor Is In
• 25: CDC Evictions
• 26: Legal Advice vs. Legal Information
• 27: Street Outreach Court

Highly recommended