Learn from challenges of virtual courts

On Wednesday, defence attorney Amerelle Francis entered a formal complaint about the virtual court system at a sitting of the court presided over by Justice Lisa Ramsumair-Hinds.

The attorney declared the experience “no bed of roses.”

Among the issues she mentioned were the constraints of the space – a converted shipping container in the grounds of the Maximum Security Prison – and leaks in the improvised courtroom when it rains.

That there are issues with the system is not surprising. The project, an expansion of existing videoconferencing court systems used by the Judiciary since 2005, was brought into practice with admirable speed on the orders of Chief Justice Ivor Archie.

The project was in progress and was accelerated by the CJ when it became clear that the covid19 lockdown would interrupt the operations of the courts on an extended basis.

In mid-April, Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi announced the doubling of available virtual court facilities to 12.

An early win for the project was the online execution of the plan to relieve crowding in prisons by releasing low-risk prisoners held for matters that were described as being “mild or innocent in terms of severity,” by the AG.

Making virtual courts work required more than the temporary physical infrastructure that Ms Francis bemoaned.

The Judiciary was also challenged to create or expand systems for the electronic filing of documents and to recreate the physical practice of the courtroom virtually while preserving the sanctity of the judicial process.

The months of online practice have made it clear that there are a range of hearings and some matters that are suited to the efficiencies of the virtual court well beyond the pressing need to offer an environment meeting the requirements of covid19 distancing.

The success of the system has made the first virtual jury trial at the Hall of Justice possible – a murder case under Justice Carla Brown-Antoine that began this week.

Present in the courtroom were the judge, her staff, prosecutors, court marshals and defence attorneys. The 16 jurors were spread out in the courtroom according to physical distancing requirements. The public did not attend, and the accused followed the trial via video link from the Maximum Security Prison.

The Judiciary must monitor and measure the costs these new systems have incurred, and balance them against reduced expenses such as prisoner transport to guide the future of the process.

Even in the short term, a leaking shipping container cannot be considered an appropriate or adequate element. Would any judge presiding over any matter, however swift or minor, consent to sit in such surroundings?

This enforced period of digitally enabled justice should fuel a responsible, genuine commitment to an expanded a virtual court system that could lubricate the slow grind of the justice system in TT.