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VirtualCourthouse; Issue 4.5
The Courthouse of the Future
Judge Arthur M. Monty Ahalt
Over the course of the last several years, many commentators have begun to paint the picture of the future
courthouse. Some go so far as to anticipate a paperless courthouse. Others describe a virtual dispute resolving
process, which is unconstrained by time, place or physical barriers. This discussion has on some occasions created
a resistance to change. On other occasions, there has been a healthy debate on the problems facing the Judicial
Branch of the Government and how technology can help alleviate those problems. In working through an analysis of
the value of technology, it is important to recognize that technology is but one of the resources available to the
Judicial Branch of the Government. Where does technology fit into the picture? Before the resource picture is
examined, the following factors will be focused upon for discussion:
Mission of the Court is to Resolve Disputes.
The function of the Court is to resolve disputes. The court accomplishes this mission in accordance with the
constitution and laws in a fair, just and impartial fashion. www.montyahalt.com/guides/cgujbg/judicial.htm .
Dispute Resolution is Information-Dependent.
In order to resolve a dispute, the Court needs information. The information generally consists of: (i) the
pleadings filed in court; (ii) the facts evidence; and (iii) the law.
Information is Provided Through a Process.
The information necessary to resolve the dispute is a result of a process, which consists of two principal
components. First the process is sequential. That is, the information is provided piece-by-piece over a period of
time. Until the process is complete all of the information is not present. Secondly, the process is adversarial.
Each piece of information is subject to challenge, dispute and response by an opponent.
The resources necessary to accomplish the core mission of the Court are:
People
Courthouse
Information
Technology
Current Environment.
Many commentators and policy makers are pointing to some glaring deficiencies of the current dispute resolution
process. The documented complaints fall into four categories:
1. The process is slow.
2. The process is too expensive.
3. The process is unnecessarily mysterious.
4. The process is too adversarial.
Roberta Katz, General Counsel for Netscape and a noted anthropologist, has written an extraordinarily helpful book,
Justice Matters, www.discovery.org. In Justice Matters, Ms Katz analyzes the historical foundation for the court
system and its current effectiveness. In her book, Ms. Katz points to several of these deficiencies especially the
perception of unfairness and a breakdown in the adversarial dispute resolving process. "It is clear it has always
been clear that the legal system does not function with mathematical precision. Because of differences in legal
skills, because of the room for maneuver afforded by rules, and because of the inexact nature of precedent,
opportunities for unfairness and injustice coexist with their opposites. But, increasingly, Americans feel that
civil litigation is not being conducted fairly and that this unfairness goes far beyond the 'traditional' and
occasional injustices. Over the past few years, many Americans especially those who have extensive contact with the
system have begun to feel that unfairness is systemic. See Justice Matters, page 29.
"Still, in this context, the problem is not why people sue. It is how the system has come to handle the load, the
growing burden of legitimate, frivolous and predatory cases. The sad fact is, the civil justice system, in its
present form, is both dysfunctional and obsolete. Dysfunction and obsolescence make possible the other abuses, and
permit those who exploit and misuse the system to make large profits from it." See Justice Matters, page 40.
The Virtual Courthouse -- Providing a Digital Bridge for the Legal Community.
The virtual courthouse will contain many historical components. First, it will be a physical structure with
physical courtrooms. The historical symbolism which has demonstrated the importance of the concepts of justice,
fairness and authority will maintain continued importance and value. Winston Churchill stated: "First we shape our
buildings and then our buildings shape us." However, technology holds great promise to reduce the amount of space
needed in the Courthouse of the future because of the dramatically reduced need for paper storage, handling and
processing.
The virtual courthouse will contain an environment with less paper but will not be paperless. It will enable some
of its disputes but not all of its disputes to be resolved in a virtual world unconstrained by place, time or
physical barriers. The virtual courthouse will contain an electronic case file. It will require fewer people and
will be faster. The litigants will be able to access online information about the process of dispute resolving
which will lessen the mystery and reduce the significance of local differences.
It is clear, however, that the promise of technology will not provide solutions for many of the deficiencies in the
dispute resolution process. Indeed, technology may exacerbate many of the problems. With all of the efficiencies
created by the personal computer it is clear that the volume of paper has been greatly increased by the use of the
personal computer. In planning for the virtual courthouse, great care must be taken to guard against this potential
misuse of technology. Nonetheless, technology can be a powerful resource in court reform that leads to a fair,
impartial, speedy and just result.
The dynamics of failed government services including dispute resolution are causing many citizens to seek alternate
legal systems. So the demand for gated communities has dramatically increased. These managed private communities
along with homeowners and condominium associations provide clear-cut property rights and many governmental
services.
On the cyberspace front, the Internet is creating its own set of rules and legal processes to handle inappropriate
conduct. So there has developed the Virtual Magistrate, Internet Neutral and the Online Ombudsman's Office Legal
Space. See also www.cato.org.
by Judge Arthur M. Monty Ahalt - May 1999
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