Dyane O'Leary (Suffolk University Law School) has posted Life Beyond Zoom: The Promise of Emerging Virtual Court Alternatives (Washburn Law Journal, Vol. 62, p.587 (2023)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
Many people think only of Zoom when they think of virtual courts. That’s wrong—or far too narrow. This Essay places courts’ use of synchronous remote videoconferencing tools into a wider context and explores categories of emerging options to support modern judicial proceedings, from the simple—online mobile-friendly smartforms—to the more imaginative—personalized avatars interacting in a virtual online courthouse environment.
To date, standard videoconferencing software has largely been the default—but it is no longer the only option at the store. If invention takes good imagination and a pile of junk, there is plenty of imagination about the next era of virtual courts and plenty of emerging tools that are far from junk. “Virtual court” is not a one-size-fits-all concept; not every flavor of “live” videoconferencing or remote court technology or electronic online access to case documents and forms is the same. This Essay offers a bird’s-eye view of three categories of emerging technologies supporting the modern era of virtual courts: Online court forms automation; Courtroom hybrid technologies; Immersive online “all-in-one” platforms. If necessity is the mother of all invention, the need on behalf of all consumers of the court system as a service is here.
