E-Filing Pioneer Judge, James Mehaffy, Jr. Passes

 

© 2007 Larry D. Moore. Licensed
under CC BY-SA 3.0 https://bit.ly/343Giyq

A couple of weeks back we learned that retired Texas District Court Judge James Mehaffy, Jr. had passed away.

I had the honor of knowing and working with the Judge and visiting his court in Beaumont, Texas.  In the early 1990’s the NCSC had both the Court Technology Laboratory and Courtroom 21 projects running in Williamsburg.  Judge Mehaffy brought a team from his court that was planning on how to deal with a very large and complex series of civil trials.  At the time the plan was to convert the jury assembly room of the courthouse into a courtroom to handle the large number of lawyers who would be present.

Court Tech News and Notes for February 2022

 

Slow and steady wins the court tech race

This post includes news about court text messaging in Colorado, a TurboCourt anniversary, nine justice reform programs to review, some free court subject public service announcements, a study on remote hearings costs and benefits, and innovations from the HiiL Demo Day 2022.

Request for Proposal: AOC-Sponsored Statewide eFiling System

https://bit.ly/3gSQTyQ

The Nevada Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC), a judicial branch department that assists the Supreme Court of Nevada with the administration of the Nevada courts, invites submissions of offers for systems and services for a statewide cloud‐based, COTS electronic filing system, a document access system, a redaction component, and a forms assembly solution (“eFiling system” or “Solution”). (Master Services Agreement to follow later)

Webinar: Tales from the cyber-frontlines: Lessons from lived experiences

 

This webinar is set for Monday, February 28 - 3–4 p.m. EST

Did you know that the average cost of recovery from a cybersecurity incident is close to $4 million? If your court has security staff and a magnetometer— but doesn’t have a cybersecurity incident response team—our Cyber Monday webinar series is for you!

Join leaders from the Joint Technology Committee (JTC) for its first Cyber Monday webinar series on Feb. 28. You'll learn about CCJ/COSCA's recently adopted resolution and concrete action steps to address cybersecurity risks. You'll also hear how court leaders in Texas and Alaska dealt with their own cyberattacks.

eCourts 2022 Call for Proposals

 

This year's eCourts will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada, December 5-7 at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino. 

We are reaching out to the court community to identify session ideas that highlight progress and innovation and that will encourage teams of administrators, technologists, and judges to attend. 

Microsoft Mesh Augmented Reality for Courtroom Evidence

 

As most of you already know much of the "big technology news" for the first part of 2022 has been the announcements around "the metaverse".  

While it is fun in many gaming situations, I think there is also a possibility of using it effectively in courtroom evidence presentations in the future.  We discuss below how some versions might be useful in the courtroom.

This and That in Court Tech - January 2022

 

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.

Minnesota Legal Kiosk Project

 

Thanks to a tweet from attorney Mark C. Palmer we learned today about this Minnesota project that started last year.

The project issued the following press release on May 3, 2021. 

Online Seminar: Tips for Conducting Remote and Hybrid Hearings with Self-represented Litigants

 

When? Thursday, January 20, 3:00 pm ET

Addressing the digital divide. Communicating scheduling changes. Providing legal information in layman’s terms on court websites. Managing the waiting room. Since the start of the pandemic, courts across the country have adapted their processes to allow for remote and virtual proceedings. Join us for the next discussion in a series of webinars focused on best practices for engaging with attorneys and self-represented litigants in remote and virtual hearings.

Prerecorded Videotaped Trials

 

With news that jury trials are being delayed once again due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it is useful to resurrect some early court technology used by the Erie County Common Pleas Court, General Division in Sandusky, Ohio from the '70s and later.

The following is a report that my NCSC colleagues, Peggy A. Walsh and Kevin P. Kilpatrick, Staff Associate published as part of the Court Technology Reports, 1990 publication available in PDF in our Library eCollection here.

If you read this article, please remember that this was done in the time of analog (meaning tape) recording media and way before the internet was generally available to the public and the courts. It is much easier to accomplish this in 2022 and therefore the core concepts are worth considering and updating as another potential tool for court trials.