Legal reformers have long advocated digitisation. But such technology is untested at scale
IT WAS BY digital video shared in May that global attention first turned to the killing of George Floyd. In a striking parallel, it was again by video that Derek Chauvin, the white police officer filmed kneeling on Mr Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes, made his first appearance in court as a murder suspect.
Legal reformers have long advocated digitisation. Technology can make justice cheaper and more accessible, streamlining systems already stretched to their limits. Hearings in digital conference rooms can be easier to attend than physical ones for reporters covering the courts. Remote proceedings also prevent the spread of disease. The best way to get people into otherwise packed courtrooms without the risk of contagion is by video link.
Further, digital justice threatens to upend the ancient understanding that courts should be open to the public. Spectators remind courts that their decisions have bearing on society. Video access could make courtrooms more accessible by extending the number of people who might attend from a few dozen to thousands or more. But as internet users have discovered over the past decade, the web is easy to wall off.
Initial findings suggest a divergence between the branches of the justice system. Civil cases—those without juries—appear to transfer easily to cyberspace. On June 5th Britain’s Civil Justice Council published a report that surveyed more than 1,000 lawyers, journalists and members of the public who had taken part in remote civil cases since mid-March. Some 71.5% of respondents said they had had a positive or very positive experience with remote hearings.
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