Sometimes It Takes a Crisis to Force Innovation

Courts were initially caught flat-footed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Urgent reforms of judicial processes had to be implemented – which typically occurred at a glacial pace. A consequence of the changes brought about by COVID-19 was the adjournment of civil cases and criminal trials. The general opinion of the public, whether an informed opinion or not, was that getting matters finalised in court is akin to jumping on a dinosaur tail trying to get it to move. 

Whilst the courts have undergone a breakneck transition to operate virtually, the subsequent impact on the backlog in court listings was unavoidable. The delay in hearings can be a detriment to the memories of witnesses and may impair confidence in the judicial system. Due to the “back-to-back” nature of caseloads, investigators will often complete their investigations at one point to take the relevant enforcement action (arrest, summons, administrative sanction). In doing so, they will not prepare the brief of evidence until they are aware of a pending court date. This almost always results in a “last-minute rush” to construct the brief, which has always been a common characteristic of inadequate or incomplete briefs.  

Automatically creating “digital briefs of evidence” as the investigation progresses, rather than months after the investigation concludes, addresses the quality and suitability of briefs of evidence in virtual and online proceedings. Most importantly, digital briefs are crucial in supporting the transition to virtual proceedings thereby reducing adjournment timeframes and streaming the criminal and civil justice process to gain ground and future proof proceedings.

Joins us for a 30 minutes as experienced investigators from the US and AUS discuss the benefits of digital automated briefs of evidence.

Register