This and That in Court Technology, August 2021

 

In this month’s collection of notes we have news about an online forms creation website, punishment for abuse of social media by posting a judge's personal information, ideas for "engineering gatherings", New Mexico finishing their statewide E-filing implementation project, the new NCSC's Courthouse Retrospective report, CCJ/COSCA support for remote and virtual hearings, and a cool new data tool.

CTC2021 Keynote Speaker - Peter Warren Singer Announced

 

We’re happy to announce this year’s keynote speaker, Peter Warren Singer. Named one of the nation’s 100 leading innovators by Smithsonian Magazine, Singer is a notable influencer, global thinker, and “mad scientist” by organizations including Defense News, Foreign Policy, and the U.S. Army’s Training and Doctrine Command.

A strategist and senior fellow at the think tank New America, Singer is an award-winning author of novels and non-fiction books about military privatization, robotics, the weaponization of social media, and cyberwar and cybersecurity.

Tech Interns for Courts: Some Ideas

Over the years I have had some excellent interns that worked for me in Arizona, on international projects, and here at the NCSC.   It seems that, not surprisingly, all of them went on to good careers.  In this week's post, I will share some project ideas for your potential interns and second, some tips to make their experience a rewarding one.

A Barrel Full of Court Tech News

It is spring flower season and so we share an analogous bounty of court tech in the following post.  Included are news about CTC registration, more reminder systems benefits, New Mexico's new open legal online access system, China court blockchain, and AI projects, Amal and George Clooney's TrialWatch app, Kansas Supreme Court's E-Filing rules review, and paper savings in the England and Wales courts.

This and That in Court Tech – January 2019

In this edition, we share information about a new court use of social media report, mobile video conferencing and identity verification, Connecticut Probate Court E-Filing, digital blockchain marriage certificates, an excellent self-help center website, and an upcoming conference.

Georgia Supreme Court Issues New Rule on Recording Devices

Issued by the Georgia Supreme Court on February 6, 2018:

"The following order was passed:

It is ordered that Uniform Superior Court Rule 22, which relates to the use of electronic devices in courtrooms and recording of judicial proceedings by representatives of the news media and other persons, be amended. The amended Rule 22, which is the product of several years of study and discussion by the Council of Superior Court Judges, this Court, and numerous organizations that provided written and oral comments on proposed rule drafts, replaces the existing Rule 22 in its entirety.  The amended rule continues to implement OCGA § 15-1-10.1 but is updated to reflect developments over the last two decades in recording technology, in the news media, and, most significantly, in recording devices – namely, the smart phones and other mobile computers with recording capabilities that today are routinely carried and used by most people in this state.  The amended Rule 22 will take effect on May 1,2018, and reads as follows:

Social Media and the Courts Policy Reviewed & Some Sad News

The Vermont Courts are considering new rules for use of social media in their courts.  I am a great fan of the work of retired Supreme Court Justice John Dooley and his participation in this work had me take notice  (btw, Justice Dooley gave the keynote speech at the first E-Courts Conference).  Also, since we are on the subject, we share some information from our NCSC Social Media and the Courts Network website.  And last, we received some sad news this week on the passing of court technology pioneer, Sir Henry Brooke.

Florida Courts Offer New Litigant Help App

In an article posted at WFSU Public Media on December 15, 2017, we learned about the new Florida Courts Mobile App that was unveiled by Chief Justice Jorge Labarga for the Florida Civil Justice Commission.  It was noted in the article that “Former Florida Bar president and Commission on Access to Civil Justice member Greg Coleman says improved mobile access will help people who can’t afford attorneys.”

Courts Could Help to Protect Drivers from Traffic Ticket Phishing E-mail

CyberheistNews posted an article about “the NY State Department of Motor Vehicles warning about a phishing scam where New York drivers are being targeted, stating they have 48 hours to pay a fine or have their driver's license revoked.” In this post, we share some ideas that courts may consider to help to reduce or eliminate this problem.

Court Tech Related News and Notes – February, 2017

We have news about Margaret Hagan’s new book, digital justice around the world, New Hampshire’s neutral citation program, Tyler Technology in Maine, a new name for the FACT group, and a survey on social media.

This and That in Court Technology – September, 2016

Attendees enjoying e-Courts

We share news about the e-Courts 2016 Conference, the Federal Courts test of prisoner electronic access kiosks, news in the search for a quiet keyboard - now in portable form, questions raised about Australian use of court videoconferencing, a Blockchain notarization service, and a new court podcast in Florida.

Argentina's Center for Judicial Information

For many years I have been an admirer for the Argentina Judiciary’s Center for Judicial Information website.  I think that it is one of the best judicial websites in the world and it is one that should be studied and monitored by other judiciaries.  Via our good friend, Mr. Luis Maria Palma, President of E-Justicia Latinoamerica and a Vice-President of the International Association for Court Administration we were able to contact Ms. Maria Bourdin, who late last year was named as head of their Ministry of Communication and Open Government.  She was kind enough to answer our questions and share information regarding their excellent court website.

Even More This and That in Court Technology – June, 2016

After I wrote the post last week a lot of new items of potential interest to court technologists appeared.  In this edition we share news from Microsoft, Facebook, the ODR 2016 Conference, the Tyler Excellence Awards, uses for E-Discovery Software, and a cleaned up software utility repository.

Some News Notes

A busy couple of weeks.  But we wanted to share three notes about “The Free Law Project” Judicial Database, Microsoft’s partnership with the Legal Service Corporation and Pro Bono Net, and some recent legal action involving digital evidence.

CourtHack 2016 a Great Success!

This past weekend the NCSC team working with HackerNest held the first ever CourtHack event.  I can say without qualification that it was great!  More...

This and That in Court Technology – December, 2015

We talk about saving websites as PDF's, an IT administrative position announcement, another judge reprimanded for social media use, police body cameras infected with a computer virus, LexisNexis acquisition of Lex Machina, and more...

This and That in Court Technology – October, 2015

News about CourtHack, a new judge research tool for lawyers, the FBI’s NextGen identification system, online digital record preservation classes, a new high-speed departmental scanner, and just what everyone needs: a “Flux Capacitor” for your car.

This and That in Court Technology – August, 2015

Lots of news for a hot and sticky summer week from Pennsylvania, Open Law Labs, Adobe, Washington DC, Arizona, Nebraska, and fun tech toy land.

Macomb County Clerk and Uber Partner to Deliver Jurors to Courthouse

Via press release, Macomb County, MI (June 30, 2015)

"In Macomb County, a jury summons now comes with a driver, providing on-demand transportation to and from the Courthouse. Macomb County Jurors will receive an Uber code good for a $20 ride each way or $40 round trip to and from the courthouse.  In most cases, the code will cover the full cost of a ride.  The ride must start or end at the Macomb County Circuit Court Building in Mount Clemens, and the cost will depend on the distance from a juror’s home.

This and That in Court Tech - May, 2015

In this months article, a commentary on the ABA Blue Sky Agenda, Texas E-filing rollout data, social media training ordered for a judge, Ravel Law launches federal judge analytics, NIEM 10th anniversary, and a McMillan scholarship reminder for CTC-2015.