Over this break, I volunteered at the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit. During my time, I shadowed different judges and sat in observing different trials. One of the courtrooms I observed did a series of violation of parole hearings. While it was not the most exciting to me, it was something new for me to experience. Something that this judge did that I haven't seen before was having all of the hearings over zoom. The judge, attorneys, court reporters, etc. were all physically present in the courtroom while the defendants were in holding in a different location and were present via zoom.
By holding all of these hearings over zoom, I found it to actually be more efficient time wise, it was a very organized and orderly process, and overall was easier than bussing everyone in. Everyone who was speaking had their own camera and there were screens everywhere so the people in the courtroom could see. Additionally, the residing judge really wanted to see people land on their and not back in jail so seeing him work with people and give them a chance was refreshing to see.
I know zoom hearings have been popular since covid and have stuck around, but this was my first time experiencing it and seeing it in action and think its a great practice to continue in the future.
I've also had the opportunity to observe Zoom court meetings such as the ones you did, and I thought the same thing about efficiency. Everyone was on time, and it made the process go very smoothly.
ReplyDeleteAppellate arguments work very well via Zoom. Some are hybrid with one lawyer remote and the other in-person in the courtroom. Here is the YouTube link to my most recent oral argument from March 5 in the Michigan Court of Appeals. I was remote and opposing counsel (who is one of my closest friends) was in-person in Detroit. https://youtu.be/H5jFfRT1RCE?t=5529
ReplyDeleteVirgina,
ReplyDeleteI also have had the opportunity to sit in on some Zoom hearings and I agree that they are more efficient time wise in many situations. While in some cases I do see the benefits of having all parties in the court room, for many proceedings meeting via zoom is much faster and in some cases even easier to schedule with all parties. I am interested to see if these zoom hearings continue or if more and more of them will begin to take place in person as time goes on.
Virginia, I definitely think that zoom meetings are here to stay. They make court hearings more efficient and allow attorneys to spend less time driving to the courthouse. However, I still think that most motion hearings or oral arguments should go back to being in person. I think that everyone involved is more prepared when they are forced to show up in person and the experience is smoother throughout the process.
ReplyDeleteI interned at the State Attorney's Office in Ft. Myers last summer and was in court observing every day. A lot of things are done over zoom (witness testimony, lawyers phoning in and speaking over the court's speaker system, etc. all very common now). A fun fact I learned is that most Florida courts have been doing the daily First Appearances every morning via remote video since about 1999-2000. Way, way before COVID or Zoom or even Skype was a thing. But in the case of first appearances, it's plainly more efficient since all the arrestees are at the jail and mostly just walk up to the camera, listen to the judge, then sit back down.
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