The first part in this series about how courts are leading the way in technological progression explored video conferencing. The convenience that video conferencing provides means that witnesses who are unable to physically visit the courtroom are able to give evidence with ease. It also lends itself to be used for clients who are in custody and are participating in a bail hearing. Aside from the convenience aspect of video conferencing, it allows vulnerable witnesses to give evidence from a remote video facility with safety and comfort. We will now move on to another aspect of technology that the courts have embraced. While video conferencing shows us how technology is used inside the courtroom, we will now discuss how technology is currently being used outside the courtroom.
Online Judgments
Courts have moved away from delivering paper judgments and the majority of judgments are now made available online. Just to name a few, the following courts have adopted this approach:
Online judgments are not only convenient and cost-effective (no need to print on paper), they are also environment-friendly. Once judgments are available online, it grants easy access to those who previously could not afford to purchase copies. Reducing paper use definitely has its benefits as demonstrated by the courts, and is definitely a reason to encourage law firms to move as many processes as possible to computer-based rather than paper-based methods.
Social Media Used for Court Order Notification
Around 5 years ago during a case heard at the Victorian Supreme Court, Justice Anne Ferguson ordered an interim injunction using the social media platforms of Twitter and Facebook. Although social media was quite mainstream at the time, the court’s use of the platform was surprising to say the least. Coming to the present, some courts now have official social media accounts where updates are regularly posted. The Family Court of Australia notifies its followers of the below types of information:
- Judgments
- Legislation and rule changes
- New publications
- Media releases
The use of social media by the Family Court means it is easy for people to keep up to date with how our law is changing. It ensures we are always aware of the current law and know where we stand.
Electronic Discovery
Also known as ‘eDiscovery’, this refers to discovery in legal proceedings involving electronic information. The purpose behind courts using eDiscovery is to ensure a quick, cheap and efficient process. The Federal Court expects parties to use technology for the following processes:
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- Listing discoverable documents
- Exchanging electronically stored information
- Inspecting discovered documents
- Lodging documents with the court
- Delivering court documents to (and communicating with) each party
- Presenting documents to the court during hearings
The courts also discourage printing electronic documents and photocopying paper documents in the interests of the environment, and this ties back to delivering judgments online and the benefits we can derive from that.
Final Thoughts
It is great to see courts embracing technology for convenience purposes as well as to protect the environment. Bodies like this will lead the way for law firms and demonstrate what benefits can come out of moving away from paper-based activities and taking full advantage of technology.
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