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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
REQUESTING A HEARING OF THE TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION COMMITTEE TO DISCUSS THE FEASIBILITY AND EFFICACY OF VOLUNTARY REMOTE COURT APPEARANCES
WHEREAS, audio and video appearances in courtrooms offer an enormous potential for savings, revenue generation, environmental benefits, improved safety and remote access to justice which promotes the administration of justice and equity in the courtroom; and
WHEREAS, remote court appearances allow attorneys and the public to appear in court for routine matters involving Civil, Criminal, Family, Probate, Mental Health, Traffic, Juvenile, Bankruptcy and other proceedings without leaving their homes or offices; and
WHEREAS, in 2016, In its Call to Action: Achieving Civil Justice for All, the Conference of Chief Justices' Civil Justice Improvement Committee set forth a convincing series of findings and recommendations, which among them was the promotion of remote audio and video services for court hearings and management; and
WHEREAS, the Center for Legal and Court Technology, a non-profit research organization that improves the administration of Justice through the use of technology, progressively encourages the utilization of remote and video court appearances throughout the United States to enhance the efficiency of judicial administration and court proceedings for both attorney's and the public; and
WHEREAS, in 1992, the Supreme Court of Illinois adopted rule 185 to allow for telephonic appearances in certain civil proceedings; and in 2017, the Supreme Court of Illinois amended its rules to also allow for remote video conferences; and
WHEREAS, in Los Angeles Superior Court a system with approximately 494 judicial officers and comparable to the Cook County Circuit Court, over 200 of those judicial officers allow for remote court appearances with a volume of over 83,000 appearances in 2018; moreover, approximately $4.6 million in revenue over a three-year period attributable to remote court...
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