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.

This and That in Court Technology - July 2020

Assateague Island Wild Ponies

We have news about a report on protection order repositories, a drive-up clerk’s office that protects uses and staff, comments on impediments in the application of court and legal technology, the HiiL Charging for Justice report, the NIEM 5.1 beta standard announcement, AI closed captioning systems compared, and fun Zoom and Teams web video meeting backgrounds.

eCourts 2020 Summer Survey

We could use your help figuring out eCourts 2020.

We hope you and your family are staying safe with all that's going on in the world. The National Center for State Courts (NCSC) is staying on top of developing challenges we all face, including COVID, job-related stresses, travel, and budget cuts. 

eCourts 2020 is a mere five months away, and while we have an excellent education, networking, and exhibit show planned, the possibility of not being able to have a face-to-face conference is still up in the air. 

We could use your help. Please take a few minutes to complete a quick survey.  Click here.

 

Actionable Cybersecurity for Courts

https://bit.ly/37YIZ1L

  A new NCSC report written by Sajed Naseem, Court Information Security Officer, New Jersey Courts, Jannet A. Okazaki, Principal Court Management Consultant, NCSC, and Barbara Holmes, Principal Court Management Consultant, NCSC was released last month. 

 

This and That in Court Technology - Summer Solstice 2020 Edition

Since many of us are still social distancing, I thought it would be nice to enjoy the upcoming summer solstice sunrise with the following news from the court tech world?  In this edition, we share a new NCSEA webinar, a Court Leader podcast on how courts are dealing with the pandemic, news about a Trinidad and Tobago online murder trial, the US Federal Courts restarting jury trials report, news from courts in Southeast Asia, and a new handy Microsoft Windows 10 feature.

CCMS Part 21: Comments on Project Management, Acquisition, and Development

Old Davidson County Tennessee Courthouse sculpture by Brent Moore

https://bit.ly/2yZxmKW

Over the years I have picked up some ideas that I think can help many court technology projects.  In this penultimate post to the Court Case Management System (CCMS) series, we wish to share some of those ideas and lessons learned.  We will specifically discuss acquisition strategies, buy versus build, and sustainability. 

The Online Courtroom Project Announced

https://onlinecourtroom.org

Via Press Release:

Announcing the formation of THE ONLINE COURTROOM PROJECT

In an era of social distancing, how do we stay together to ensure that justice is still done? How can we protect our constitutional right to be judged by a jury of our peers if we are required to stay physically apart? How do we ensure our constitutional access to justice when some courthouse doors are locked? Is justice possible when parties, witnesses, and even triers of fact appear online? These are pressing questions for our legal system and our democracy.

First remote jury trial shows potential for widespread use

From @the Center newsletter by the NCSC on May 5, 2020

Let the record show that history was made at 8 a.m. CDT Monday, May 18, 2020, in northeast Texas, where 26 potential jurors met in the comfort of their homes for the nation’s first-ever remote jury trial, presided over by two judges, one of whom was making sure the technology worked the way it should.

This and That in Court Technology May 2020

In this month’s highlights we share information about the PASS (Public Access Software Spec), our NCSC Tiny Chat about digital signatures, e-notarization and digital notice, Tyler’s Virtual Court offering, virtual court hearings in Nigeria, an electronic hearing practice guide posted by the Trinidad and Tobago Judiciary, and special offers by Microsoft for public safety and non-profits in response to the pandemic.

May First 2020, Court Tech News and Notes

In this compilation of news items, we share several from the National Center for State Courts including the upcoming “Virtual Doctor Is In” Sessions, news about the Supreme Court ruling on Georgia’s law Copywrite assertion, a new speech to text system, and some words of wisdom.

And Now for Something Completely Different

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/And_Now_for_Something_Completely_Different

To quote Monty Python, we have some different court tech subject matter to share in this post. 

The COSCA/NACM Joint Technology Committee has issued two new Resource Bulletins.  The first is an "Introduction to AI for Courts".  The second is "Getting Started with a Chatbot."

More below…

eFileTexas 2.0 RFO Issued

Big Tex at the Texas State Fair

The Texas Office of Court Administration is providing an official notification of an RFO titled “eFileTexas 2.0”.

 The Texas Office of Court Administration (OCA), a judicial branch agency that assists the Supreme Court of Texas with the administration of the Texas 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 (“eFileTexas 2.0” or “Solution”).

It’s Happening

A meme from Arrested Development, Season 3, Episode 1

I think that many of our friends in Court Technology are astounded at the rapid changes that have been implemented in the courts in just the past five weeks?  Today’s post will list a few of the many uses of web and audio conferencing along with the rules and procedures including a terrific website by CTC 2019 keynote speaker Richard Susskind, SCOTUS instituting audio oral arguments available to the public starting in May 2020, Texas Supreme Court arguments, YouTube streaming, and technical guidance, and Michigan’s Virtual Courtroom Task Force report.

JTC Quick Response Bulletin on Virtual Hearings

Strategic Issues to Consider when Starting Virtual Hearings

Courts all over the world are adapting quickly to operational limitations imposed by the coronavirus pandemic. As courts pivot to provide essential services without bringing the public as well as court staff into the courthouse where they could be exposed to, or could expose others to a potentially deadly virus, remote hearings are suddenly essential. In this rapidly evolving situation, courts must still bear in mind key decision points, assumptions, and challenges as well as opportunities as they go forward. This JTC Quick Response Bulletin provides important reminders designed to ensure courts succeed with these efforts while continuing to play the essential role courts play in civil society.

Click here to view/download the 7 April 2020 PDF version of the report.

Online Training on Court Tech Response to the Pandemic

https://www.ncsc.org/

There are multiple training events and podcasts on technology and management responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.  The NCSC is hosting an online seminar on Tuesday, April 7 at 3:00 PM EDT. 

Details on that and others are listed below:

US Federal Courts Announcement: Judiciary Authorizes Video/Audio Access During COVID-19 Pandemic

Press Release: Published on March 31, 2020

https://www.uscourts.gov/news/2020/03/31/judiciary-authorizes-videoaudio-access-during-covid-19-pandemic

In order to address health and safety concerns in federal courthouses and courtrooms, the Judicial Conference of the United States has temporarily approved the use of video and teleconferencing for certain criminal proceedings and access via teleconferencing for civil proceedings during the COVID-19 national emergency.

Court Web Conferencing Tips

In the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, we want to share some tips from more than twenty years using videoconferencing and web conferencing technology for presentations, technology development and support.  We begin:

Courts and Coronavirus: Is Videoconferencing a Solution?

Video Conference Room at the Ninth Judicial Circuit, Florida

Building upon our JTC Teleservices post earlier this month, I received permission from the author (and good friend), Prof Anne Wallace of Latrobe University to re-post the following article from another friend, Norman Meyer's Court Leader blog.


The global coronavirus pandemic is having profound effects and the responses by governments, health care providers, individuals, etc., is ongoing. At this time (mid-March) we do not have all the answers and the totality of what may happen is yet to be learned. Nevertheless, there are actions we can take to help mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. One way this can happen is to have courts use technology to enable remote personal appearances. Today’s blog post is written by Professor Anne Wallace, whose research about the issues involved in such remote appearances provides valuable information for courts worldwide to consider as they cope with the coronavirus pandemic. Many thanks go to her for this valuable information.

JTC Resource Bulletin: Case Studies in ODR for Courts

Since the JTC first released a publication on the topic of Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) in 2016, there has been a seismic shift in US courts’ practical experience as well as interest in ODR. This paper highlights ODR implementations that illustrate a sample of technologies, philosophies, and approaches to the used.

Virus Outbreak Prompts China's Courts to go Online

We learned from the South China Morning Post (via a repost from Abacus)

As a result of the COVID-19 (Corona Virus) outbreak, the courts in China have moved much of their work to online electronic services.

"The Shanghai High Court recorded a 63 percent increase in online court cases compared with the same period last year, state media reported. In addition to handling court case filings online, the court is using online platforms to handle payments, contact with judges, material submissions and other litigation services. Remote court trials are conducted over video links.

Online court technology is also being used in other parts of the country, but not everything is going smoothly. Assistant judge Ma Chengcheng of the Intermediate People’s Court in Xinyang told local media that before the trial, participants needed to be contacted by phone or WeChat and patiently walked through how to use the software."

eCourts 2020 Call for Proposals is Open

Our eCourts 2020 conference staff release the following announcement:

eCourts 2020 will provide opportunities to learn about both practical applications of technology as well as innovations that may impact the courts. We are reaching out to the court community for session ideas that will energize the teams of administrators, technologists, and judges who attend the eCourts conference.

JTC Resource Bulletin - Cybersecurity Basics

In December 2019 the Joint Technology Committee (JTC) established by the Conference of State Court Administrators (COSCA), the National Association for Court Management (NACM) and the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) issued a new Resource Bulletinon Cybersecurity Basics for Courts.

This and That in Court Technology – February 2020

Irish Beef Stew

Just like the winter Irish beef stew shown in the picture to the right, we have a mix of great projects/ingredients to share this month.  They include serious security warning for Microsoft Windows, new AI decision reader from ROSS Intelligence, Lex Machina AI expanding into state courts, the PACER fees federal appeals hearing, Alaska Emailing jury summons, and automation program news from England & Wales and a new automation budget commitment for Ireland.