“Courtroom Process Automation”

It’s a busy morning in one of Illinois’ county courts where numerous lawyers, paralegals and self-represented litigants parade in front of the judge while a clerk with a stack of files next to him tries to keep the routine appearances moving as quickly as possible. Some individuals will wait nearly an hour or more for appearances that will last less than a minute, during which they will set the next court date to provide an update in their case, receive additional evidence or possibly even set a new date for the actual trial.

If there is a problem in the court or if there is missing information related to a case, individuals will have to wait even longer for their brief appearance.

The judge even apologizes to an attendee who has been waiting for their case to be heard over two hours. The missing information in the case is eventually found and the case is then quickly adjourned to a later date a month later.

It is actually shocking how archaic today’s federal and county court processes really are. One of the biggest technological changes that hit the courts were remote court appearances telephonically or via video. The majority of US courts are still in this dinosaur-type administration. There are so many times where appearing parties and attorneys simply waste their time appearing in person when they could have appeared remotely.

The courts delays and inefficiencies as well as no shows and cancellations cause them to come under scrutiny to set strict timelines to bring cases to a close.  Many of the day-to-day headaches in court could be improved by technology and remote appearances reducing delays in the docket and system. 

Modernization efforts fall under the state and county courts. Some courts are always interested in exploring ways to modernize their legal system. Some attorneys agree the over reliance on in-person appearances in court are not only inefficient but alarming because of the cases that drag on or fall between the cracks.

Utilizing a remote courtroom appearance solution like Streamwrite’s VCourt matters especially during the early stages which would free up judicial resources and court space for conducting trials.  Lawyers should be able to conduct virtual appearances as a way to get a case moving forward without having to take up time and space in court.  Federal courts lag further behind other jurisdictions like county courts.

Both levels of government could benefit from VCourt by reducing delays and modernizing. The better use of technology and case management could assist courts to address the challenges of delays and cancellations. Wherever possible, routine appearances should be replaced by VCourt for remote courtroom appearances.