Court Protocol and Technology

Court Protocol and Technology

Crystal M. Pegee

Kaplan University

Before technology entered the courtroom, attorneys outlining their cases would present evidence by holding up pictures on easels and passing documents to the judge or to the jury. Now with modern technology and its advances over the years, trial attorneys are now allowed to use computer presentation software, video, audio, and web-based telecommunication capability. As technology has become more widely available, courtroom renovations have involved the upgrading of electrical systems and high equipment connections. In addition, many courtrooms have been equipped with projectors, televisions, and large screens. (Levey, 1998)

The Center for Legal and Court Technology is a joint project of William & Mary Law School and the National Center for State Courts that started in 1993 for Courtroom 21. CLCT is best known for the Law School's McGlothlin Courtroom, the hub of the Courtroom 21 Project, which is the world's most technologically advanced trial and appellate courtroom. After Stenograph Corporation offered to equip a Computer-Integrated Courtroom for the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) because they did not have a courtroom of its own, NCSC approached Law Professor Fred Lederer at the William and Mary Law School next door who agreed to host and support the effort. The Law School’s McGlothlin Courtroom was furnished with a multi-frame remote arraignment and visual record system and a state-of-the-art real-time transcription system by Stenograph Corporation. (William & Mary Law School, 2008)

Their deputy director and president of Sight and Sound Solutions Martin Gruen, installed the courtroom upgrades. A year later the project went a step further and the idea of an international model facility was born. David Buswell, who was a representative for Stenograph Corporation, became the driving force behind the project. McGlothlin...