Technology Innovator - Judge Emily Miskel Recognized

 

It was announced that Texas District Court Judge Emily Miskel “who in May led the nation’s first-ever remote jury trial, is the recipient of the 2020 William H. Rehnquist Award for Judicial Excellence, the highest honor bestowed to a state court judge by the National Center for State Courts (NCSC). This prestigious award honors a state court judge who demonstrates the outstanding qualities of judicial excellence, including integrity, fairness, open-mindedness, knowledge of the law, professional ethics, creativity, sound judgment, intellectual courage, and decisiveness.”

Using Tech to Stop FTA's and Adjournments

 

With the success of web and audio hearings during the Covid-19 pandemic, courts have proven that absent/remote persons can be made available by mobile or computer.  It is time now to make this standard practice.

Comparative Statistical Model Standards

 

One “unicorn” (a mythical goal) in Court Technology has been that Case Management Systems will have the ability to create comparative case statistics between court systems. Policymakers love that idea so they can compare and punish/reward, but also perhaps better understand policy differences. The announcement that got me thinking about this is the recent NIEM 5.0 announcement that included as part of their update preparation for the future addition of GISM (Generic Statistical Information Model).

Also, understand that the ideal statistical comparison system doesn’t stop between courts, it extends to the full criminal and civil court systems. That brings us to discuss the new announcements and what they might mean for our future unicorn hunting.

Tech Tip - Scheduling E-Mail Reminders

 

We have noted the increasing adoption of text reminders to case parties by the courts before.  In this short “tech tip” post we will consider how we can add an automatic reminder via e-mail and even set up an online shared scheduling system?  

Thomson Reuters Announces Two New Judicial Tools

 

Two announcements from Thomson Reuters, Quick Check Judicial, and the acquisition of the Caselines system. 

August 19, 2020 – Thomson Reuters has introduced Quick Check Judicial, a new Westlaw Edge feature within Quick Check. 

Mobile Device Tools for Courts

 

Many courts and judicial systems have configured their websites for mobile/cell phone screen size.  But many other courts have not.  Considering that over 90% of mobile/cell phone users have Internet access from their device, maybe the focus of your online information delivery approach might shift?  We discuss two tools that might help?

Online Courtroom Project Issues Report

Earlier this year we shared news about the Online Courtroom Project.  The two-day online trial was held June 26 and 27, 2020.  The findings were captured in a report posted on July 15, 2020.

Are Current Courthouses Wrong for the Post Pandemic World?

The Covid-19 Pandemic has been an opportunity to re-examine how courts and legal business is done.  We have written many articles about new ideas and experiments in recent months. Now it is time to think long-term about courthouses themselves as they are the second biggest expense after the judges and staff?  Let’s begin:

The Economics of Court Technology

In June 2020 Los Angeles Superior Court announced the “LACourtConnect” program to facilitate web/video/audio appearance.  It is among many efforts to enable remote court access.  But there is more about this that is important that I will discuss below.

Courts Posting Zoom Conference ID’s and Passwords

Some news came in from several courts.  It is reported that Zoom web conferencing proceedings are being interrupted because the courts are publicly posting the time, link, and passwords on their websites.

Stop it!

We apply security in the physical courthouse. It should be the same in cyberspace.  

First, instead of openly posting the Zoom information, one can have a request system to attend the conference.  This is the security officer/body scanning approach. The request system message can then be reviewed by staff and the approved link and password then sent via e-mail or text to the person.    

I can see that a court might not want to spend the time/cost to program a request system?  The church I attend uses Eventbrite, but this G2.com article lists 20 alternatives.  

Second, if one wishes to make the entire proceeding public, then one can use Zoom’s ability to stream via YouTube? The Texas Supreme Court and others (I watched a hearing from the Guyana Supreme Court this morning) have used this approach.  

See this information page from Zoom for YouTube streaming.

This is not hard.