Digital Practice of Law

Virtual Court Proceedings

Streaming video could make courtrooms into Internet conference calls. "MADISON, Wis. — Sonic Foundry, a provider of rich-media systems and software, is deploying its Mediasite technology to record courtroom proceedings, the company has announced. Sonic Foundry and media services provider BxVideo are teaming up to power Courtroom Connect's new Virtual Law Viewer system for the communication of legal proceedings. ;By combining ten Sonic Foundry MediaSite presentation recorders with the BxVideo RMXPRES hosting services, VLV will be able to provide real-time coverage of trials to attorneys and journalists. The VLV works by synchronizing video of witnesses, the real-time transcript from the court reporter, snapshots of electronic evidence, and audio recordings from the courtroom in an online viewer securely accessed via a computer over the Internet. Designed as a proprietary service for law firms, it uses real-time streaming for the viewing of courtroom proceedings and digital evidence over a secure network connection. . . ."

Survey - Courtroom Technology

(8-26-04). Anatomy Of Trial Technology. "Trial technologies are all the buzz for legal technologists, early adopters, vendors, and consultants - but have they made it to the main stream practice of law? This article traces availability and use of trial preparation and presentation software, court technology, and more through the most recent ABA Legal Technology Survey Report volume on Courtroom and Litigation Technology. . . . In conclusion, the survey shows that while litigation and courtroom technologies exist, they have yet to be used at the mainstream level as that of word processing, spreadsheets, and other business applications. There are still many processes and procedures to work out to effectively use technologies such as electronic discovery and e-filing. Cost barriers, lack of need, and lack of training still keep hardware and software under the radar, although often the larger firms will embrace the technology earlier. It appears that until clients demand the pervasive use of these technologies, their acceptance and implementation will continue to be slow. . ."

Technology in the Courtroom

(8-11-04). Technology playing larger role in courts. "NORTH COUNTY ---- Legal pads and poster boards are giving way to laptops and PowerPoint slides with the proliferation of technology in the county's courtrooms. And it may just be the beginning, some experts said. The development of new computer software and presentation devices for the legal system has provided attorneys, judges and jurors new tools to do their jobs more efficiently. Improvements to existing products and new products are also on the way. "You can't be a top-notch judge or a lawyer in today's world without technological skills," said Superior Court Judge Joan Weber, the supervising judge of the Superior Court's North County branch in Vista."

England Upgrades the Courts

(4-16-04) 57 Crown Courts now have improved e-communications, 53 still to fix. "More than half of all Crown Courts in England and Wales now have a new IT infrastructure to speed up the delivery of justice. . . Modernised courts now have sophisticated IT and networks and, in many cases, facilities for the presentation of electronic and video evidence. The value of this new technology has been highlighted at the Central Criminal Court during recent high profile cases, most notably at the trial of Ian Huntley and Maxine Carr when evidence and court proceedings were displayed on large plasma screens around the court, in the jury box and in a nearby media annex. The technology provides staff with secure email facilities to share information with other criminal justice agencies . . .

Irish E-Courtroom

Fujitsu builds Irish e-courtroom

"Evidence is displayed to the public through a large plasma screen and through touch screens located on the judge's, counsel's and registrar's benches; all controlled by the judge or registrar via a wireless touch panel.

The court caters for evidence from CD, DVD, VCR, visual presenter or an evidence PC/server or from counsel's laptop. Other IT facilities include a laptop point for all parties to the case including judge, registrar, counsel, solicitors and witnesses. The system also facilitates the electronic filing and exchange of documents."

Best Court Web Site - North Carolina

The BEST Government Web Sites Announced - NCCourts.org wins 1st Place in State Judiciary Category. http://www.nccourts.org/