Never Waste a Good Crisis to Update your Court

The Freakonomics website has a page that discusses the quote in the title of this post.  It is obviously appropriate for the courts in this time of the Covid-19 pandemic, but I have used it in another context, when a new case, document, or e-filing systems are being introduced into a court.  I explain below…

A Court Public Data Access Proposal – Yes, but…

 

My friend Bob Ambrogi asked for comment during last Friday’s Legaltech Week Journalists’ Roundtable (an excellent discussion every week about our court customers). The discussion turned briefly to Jason Tashea's proposal via the DayOneProject.org initiative titled “Digitizing State Courts, Expanding Access to Justice”.  The following is my partial reply to the question asked.

I applaud Mr. Tashea for thinking about the problem. But I think there is a lot more to consider and there are additional options?  I explain…

This and That in Court Technology - February 2021

 

 

Winter 2021

There is a massive amount of court technology news this month.  We learned about, US Federal Courts response to the Covid-19 pandemic, conference news from the Innovating Justice 2021 and Legalweek 2021 events, California’s CourtStack initiative, Mark Beer’s upcoming talk on AI support for judicial decision making, Seattle and King County’s impact and response to the pandemic caseload, the NACM video podcast on Teleworking, and proposed USA federal government rules on digital format archiving.

 

Zoom Web Conference Filter Opportunity?

 

Most of our readers have seen the Zoom filer mishap online video known as “I’m not a cat”.  The story even made the news in Germany and late-night TV shows.  First, I want to congratulate the Judge for handling the problem, but I have a different view of how we can learn from this?

 

IJIS Institute National Symposium Announced

 

From the IJIS Institute

Join us virtually, February 17-18, 2021, for the IJIS Institute National Symposium. This event will highlight national priority initiatives benefiting all levels of government and brings together industry solution providers, government leaders, and representatives from nonprofit and academic organizations to network and collaborate in a neutral, non-sales environment. The National Symposium offers the unique opportunity to hear first-hand from state and local government officials and Federal government leaders.  

 

eCourts 2020 Session Replays Available Now

 

We’re happy to announce that all session replays from eCourts 2020 are now available at https://vimeo.com/showcase/8000351

Here are some highlights:

• HR guru Tom Topping discussed outcome-driven approaches for leaders, managers, and staff that provide resilient models for success in a remote work environment—while creating a satisfying work experience for everyone.
  
  
• Siobhan Gorman and Suzanne Spaulding shared information about what disinformation attacks could look like if they end up in your backyard and how you can prepare to respond.
  
  
• David Slayton discussed the essential next steps to continue improving the technology and strategy to balance virtual and in-person services.

If you couldn’t make the conference, missed a session, or want to share a memorable session with a colleague, they’re all ready for you to watch in our eCourts 2020 Virtual Session Showcase.

Get the latest eCourts 2020 information at e-Courts.org

Looks Like a Court Record to Me?

I read with interest announcements regarding a new MicrosoftTeams “Meeting Recap” feature (along with a couple of other interesting functions) that begins roll out soon.  The announcement says…

“Originally announced in September 2020, this new meeting experience will allow participants or people unable to attend the meeting to access meeting content after it has ended. Microsoft Teams will automatically share the meeting recording, transcript, chat, shared files, and more in the meeting’s details tab.”

Some Ideas for Handling the Upcoming Covid-19 Case Surge

 

Everyone can easily foresee the surge of in-person court cases that are coming later in 2021.  Many courts have put case processing on hold.  And assuming that the vaccination program will be successful in the first half of the year, what can courts do to address the case backlog and new matters that will come?  I have some ideas that I will share below.

Please also note that my colleagues and friends of the NCSC have created a tremendous resource around courts and the pandemic at  https://www.ncsc.org/newsroom/public-health-emergency  Click on the Statewide Plans to Resume Court Operations link (you may have to scroll across the red navigation bar to find it).

 

Building Ventilation – 2021 Court Tech

 

Today, I saw an excellent article on Bloomberg.com regarding building air quality and ventilation issues.  This is an important court technology concern with the Covid-19 pandemic but also a long term concern for occupant health.  Since many courthouses have challenges in this area, I thought it might be good to share some questions and quote key responses from the article below?

Please read the full article here.

 

Judiciary Addresses Cybersecurity Breach: Extra Safeguards to Protect Sensitive Court Records

 

See attribution below

Via Press Release Published on January 6, 2021

“After the recent disclosure of widespread cybersecurity breaches of both private sector and government computer systems, federal courts are immediately adding new security procedures to protect highly sensitive confidential documents filed with the courts.

“The federal Judiciary’s foremost concern must be the integrity of and public trust in the operation and administration of its courts,” James C. Duff, Secretary of the Judicial Conference of the United States, the Judiciary’s national policy-making body, said in a January 6, 2021, communication to the courts.