New Technologies effect on court system
New Technologies effect on court system.
Technology is finding its way into the courts in the form of hardware (flat-screen monitors, laptops, and so on) and software (litigation support software and other programs used by attorneys in presenting their cases).
Uses for technology in the courts include electronic filing of court documents, database integration for information sharing, electronic discovery, online depositions, high-tech evidence presentation, and court Web logs.
Some courts, such as Courtroom 21 (in the College of William and Mary Law School) and Courtroom 23 (in Florida’s Ninth Judicial Circuit), incorporate a range of technologies and are supposedly the courtrooms of the future.
New Technologies effect: Review Questions
What various kinds of contemporary technologies are being used in today’s courtrooms? What practical applications do they have?
What are types of devices in each of the three levels of courtroom technologies?
What are possible advantages of advanced technology to various courtroom participants? What about outside the courtroom?
2. Describe alternatives to criminal prosecutions, including alternative dispute resolution, mediation, and diversion
Alternatives to traditional adjudication, such as alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and restorative justice, have become popular in recent years.
ADR includes arbitration, mediation, neutral evaluation, and conciliation.
Restorative justice emphasizes the harm caused by crime and seeks to repair it. Examples of restorative justice include victim–offender mediation, conferencing, and sentencing circles, among others.
Summarize how courts and individual courtroom players’ roles may change in the future
The future of American courts is changing.
There is some evidence that trials are “vanishing” due to the smaller percentage of cases that go to trial now compared to in the past.
Professional role distinctions are also changing; for example, judges supervise drug court offenders, not just probation officers.
Another change is that the juvenile justice system is starting to look more like the adult criminal justice system.
The public is also demanding that courts adopt a focus on customer service.