People who attend court online feel better about the outcome, according to a new study from the IU Maurer School of Law.
According to a press release, “the preference for online court proceedings in these types of civil cases can be attributed to not only higher levels of convenience but also lower levels of stress and social isolation.”
IU professor of Law and Val Nolan Faculty Fellow, Victor Quintanilla, helped conduct this study.
“When people go to court and they are really incredibly stressed... that can affect our wellbeing in the space and our ability to even voice what we need," Quintanilla said.
The study found that people preferred to continue to have their court hearings online after they already attended an online hearing.
Most people who preferred an online meeting are not represented by an attorney. Those who also prefer an online meeting often had trouble with "employment, childcare and transportation challenges.”
“Almost a quarter of people in person had to travel 30 minutes or more," Quintanilla said. "Which gives you a sense of how much time it took you to get to court, get back, and then that’s not including the waiting time in court.”
Quintanilla said judges are experimenting with the length of call times.
“If you have to go to court in person, you might have to go to court at 8:30 and you won't have your case called until 10:30, so you're waiting hours," he said. "Whereas with remote option, they give narrower time bands.”
The study also found that people who attended court online were “more satisfied with their ultimate case outcomes after remote proceedings.”
It also said that those who meet online have greater access to attorneys through Zoom breakout rooms to make legal aid available to unrepresented persons for brief advice.
Betsy Greene, an attorney in Bloomington, said she leans more toward liking remote court hearings. She said that her clients find it less stressful.
"If we’re talking about a hearing where the fact-finder is a judge, the judge is pretty sophisticated, and we do not have to be concerned about whether a judge is going to be Googling extraneous information or looking up things they are not supposed to," Greene said.
Greene does have some concerns about remote trials, especially concerning public access to online trials.She worries about those who do not have access to the internet or technology.
Greene feels differently about a jury trial being hybrid.
“That, I think is more problematic," she said. "No. 1, we need to be able to ensure that citizens get juries of their peers and not only peers who can afford technology and who can afford access.”
Greene also said some lawyers may have concerns about the integrity of those involved in the trials.
“The integrity of witness or even the possibilities that jurors unsupervised — without the watchful eye of the judge and the bailiff — may look up information or go out on the internet, or read newspapers or listen to accounts that they couldn’t if they were actually in the courthouse,” she said.
Greene also questions whether people will pay close attention.
“I think people do worry about distractions if your decision maker, your jurors, are not in an atmosphere of seriousness and being admonished by the judge," said Greene.
John Richards, also an attorney in Bloomington, prefers to have hearings in person.
“I prefer in person personally. Although, in some circumstances, it’s helpful have a court conference or something in that nature with the court and the other side when it’s an out-of-county case,” he said.
Richards also shared that some of his clients prefer Zoom because they do not have to travel to the courtroom.
Some of his other clients prefer to be in person because the client may not have the technology or does not feel comfortable using it.
Richards said that some of the negatives to remote hearings are the issues clients have with technology.
“Conducting hearings by Zoom can take away some of the positive things that occur when you conduct a hearing in person,” he said. One of these positives include interacting with people.
Richards also said it could be harder to look at documents together.
