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| Image by Brad Stallcup https://stocksnap.io |
This month we have news about Chromebook price drops, Trinidad and Tobago’s new court electronic practice directions, Illinois state courts new electronic device policy, a new ODR system provided by the Los Angeles County courts, the England and Wales judiciary taking a new data-driven strategy approach, an article on “How to Create Access-to-Justice Tech for Courts That People Will Actually Use” and the latest from our Tiny Chat team.
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Chromebooks for Courts
One of our projects that will be replacing most of the workstations in a court system has been experimenting with Chromebooks to reduce overall costs. Now we learn that our timing has been quite good in this regard via an article on ZDNet.com at:
https://www.zdnet.com/article/chromebook-shipments-fall-in-q3-as-education-market-becomes-saturated/
T&T Issues New E-filing/E-verification Practice Direction
From time to time we receive requests for court rules guiding electronic practices in the courts, we would like to share the new rules issued in Trinidad and Tobago. They write:
“The objective of this Practice Direction is to provide for the filing of documents in civil proceedings by electronic means utilizing technology managed by the Judiciary of Trinidad and
Tobago, as well as to:
(a) Promote the use of technology in case flow management, consistent with provisions of the
CPR;
(b) Further the overriding objective of civil justice, with particular regard for enabling cost
effective and expeditious means of dealing with cases and sound management of the court’s
resources; and
(c) Enhance access to justice.”
In addition to the endorsement for electronic practice the court added approval of e-signature and verification. They write:
“a. “advanced electronic signature” means an electronic signature that uses cryptographic technology to ensure it is -
i. linked by authentication technology to the signatory;
ii. capable of identifying the signatory;
iii. created using a means that can be maintained under the sole control of the user;
and
iv. linked to the data or data message to which it relates to detect any changes subsequently made to that data or data message.”
And in other news from T&T we would like to recognize their excellent CourtPay electronic payment system website at https://courtpay.ttlawcourts.org/
Congratulations to the T&T Judiciary for this advancement for the Caribbean Courts.
Illinois Announces New Portable Electronic Devices Policy/
From an article posted on 2civility.org we learned that:
“The Illinois Supreme Court recently announced that every state courthouse in Illinois will be required to adopt individual orders or rules regarding the use of portable electronic devices, like cell phones or personal computers, within courthouse buildings and courtrooms.
This update follows a recommendation by the Supreme Court’s Access to Justice Commission (ATJ Commission). The ATJ Commission’s Court Guidance & Training Committee began working on a policy and recommendation in 2018 and gathered a working group of stakeholders, including many sheriffs.
“The courts must adapt with the times, and this is an important way to address the needs of court users,” Chief Justice Anne M. Burke said. “It is no longer realistic to ask people to leave cell phones and other electronics at home when they visit courthouses.”
Los Angeles Announces New ODR System for Eviction Cases
Via press release on November 29, 2021
“Presiding Judge Eric C. Taylor today announced the launch of Unlawful Detainer Online Dispute Resolution (UD ODR) to enable parties in Unlawful Detainer (housing and eviction) cases in Los Angeles County to resolve their disputes online, for free and without direct Court intervention.
“We are proud to offer this first-of-its-kind platform to alleviate stresses on both sides of an eviction case by providing opportunities for negotiation and resolution in a virtual setting, without parties ever having to commute to a courtroom,” Presiding Judge Taylor said. “UD ODR is the latest example of the Court’s innovative approach to addressing challenges caused by the pandemic in ways that increase access to justice and promote efficiency. By providing the space for negotiation, paired with free mediation offered by our partners at the Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs (DCBA) and the Center for Conflict Resolution (CCR), tenants and landlords have a unique opportunity to settle disputes on their terms, online for free without delay. “
For more the full press release is available in PDF here.
And congratulations to our friends at TurboCourt.com
HMCTS in England and Wales Announces New Data-Driven Strategy
https://insidehmcts.blog.gov.uk/2021/12/07/a-strategy-for-a-data-led-organisation/
They write about “why we need a data strategy”
Thousands of pieces of data flow through HMCTS every day – as part of our Reform programme, our day-to-day operations and our response to, and recovery from, the impact of the pandemic. We can use this data to forecast our business needs, understand our performance, identify and resolve issues and set priorities – so having better, well-managed and easy-to-use data will help us provide the best service possible to those who rely on us.
But, while HMCTS is data-rich, we don’t currently make the most of our raw data and we have work to do before we can.
And now is the time to do it. Data is key to our efforts to recover from the pandemic and, in the longer term, will enable the evaluation of our multi-year Reform program. So, our strategy comes at an important time for HMCTS as the programme enters its last 18 months.”
Their full strategy report is available in PDF for download here.
How to Create Access-to-Justice Tech for Courts That People Will Actually Use
One of our favorite legal technology writers, Victoria Hudgins posted an article on Law.com (subscription) about a Legal Services Corporation Innovations in Technology Conference session “Operationalizing User Experience Innovation in Utah”.
The “money quote” in the article in my mind is…
“if a state court doesn’t have access to consultants or focus groups to analyze court users’ needs, they can speak to the court’s help desk staffers to hear what common questions users ask, Mauet said. “It can really help you to see trends where challenges lay,”
I have tried on occasion to take this approach with no success. If you have done this, please feel free to share it with me or write a note in the comments below.
The full article is available with limited access signup here. https://bit.ly/3KPlwTD
NCSC Tiny Chats Strike Again
And last, our friends at NCSC Tiny Chats have posted as usual some great new programs on “Remote Hearings Top Tips” and on the “Justice for All (JFA) project”.
To see these and others go to:
https://www.ncsc.org/newsroom/public-health-emergency/tiny-chats
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