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Virtual courts and putting 'Summary' back into 'Summary Justice': Merely brief, or unjust?

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... Whilst it is accepted by some that technology holds the potential to improve the court system and access to justice (Rowden, 2013), it is important to heed Widdison's warning that "whilst […] IT is morally neutral, our management, mismanagement or non-management of it is not" (Donoghue, 2017(Donoghue, , p. 1024. ...
... The current court reform programme's stated vision is to "modernise and upgrade the justice system so that it works even better for everyone, from judges and legal professionals, to witnesses, litigants, and the vulnerable victims of crime" (HMCTS, 2018). However, concerns have continued to be raised that both lay client participation and the importance of the built environment (Rowden, 2013) are being overlooked in favour of "achieving reductions in expenditure and meeting fiscal imperatives" (Donoghue, 2017(Donoghue, , p. 1024). The Justice Committee (2019) has also recently warned that insufficient steps have been taken "to address the needs of vulnerable users" (p. ...
... There were also reports of parents engaging in emergency proceedings to remove their children by calling in from the side of the motorway and numerous difficulties with clients having insufficient phone credit or wifi data (Ryan, Harker and Rothera, 2020a). The report echoed previous reservations (Rowden, 2013;Donoghue, 2017) The follow-up report published in October 2020 reiterated "concern about the difficulty of creating an empathetic and supportive environment when hearings are held remotely" (Ryan, Harker and Rothera, 2020b, p. 19). ...
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This paper explores the repercussions of the virtual hearings within the context of socioeconomic inequality in the justice system. Following the imposition of ‘lockdown’ conditions in the UK in March 2020, the Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) rapidly introduced an online court system resulting in thousands of hearings being swiftly transferred onto audio or video-calling platforms. This study is based on interviews with six barristers and solicitors practising in the criminal and family courts, focusing on what the online court experience can reveal about the disparity in socioeconomic status between those judging and those being judged. Conducting a thematic analysis of the interview data, I argue that the disruption to the courtroom dynamics caused by online hearings highlights tacit functions of the lawyer’s role in supporting their clients to navigate the daunting court experience and comply with courtroom customs. I ultimately conclude that concerns regarding the loss of solemnity of proceedings reveal assumptions of both the traditional and virtual court environment and suggest that further research is needed before committing to permanent technology reforms.
... This study underlines the importance of acknowledging that technology is not transparent (Lanzara, 2010) and, far from being a neutral insertion, its use fundamentally alters the nature of court proceedings (Rowden, 2013). That videolink appearances disrupt or alter experts' performances should trouble experts and those who call them. ...
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This article reports on empirical research conducted into the use of audiovisual links (videolinks) to take expert testimony in jury trials. Studies reveal ambivalent attitudes to court use of videolink, with most previous research focussed on its use for vulnerable witnesses and defendants. Our study finds there are issues unique to expert witnesses appearing by videolink, such as compromised ability to gesture and interact with exhibits and demonstrative tools, and reductions in availability of feedback to gauge juror understanding. Overall, the use of videolinks adds an additional cognitive load to the task of giving expert evidence. While many of these issues might be addressed through environmental or technological improvements, we argue this research has broader ramifications for expert witnesses and the courts. The use of videolinks for taking expert evidence exposes the contingent nature of expertise and the cultural scaffolding inherent in its construction. In reflecting on the implications of these findings, and on the way that reliability, credibility and expertise are defined and established in court, we suggest a more critical engagement with the relationship between content and mode of delivery by stakeholders.
... The significance of judicial space also lies in the fact that its ornamental, oratorical and architectural features lead to semiotics of law within courtroom space [15,25,87]. Rowden [66] has argued that judicial space is not a 27 This interpretation can be said to be the result of the Habeas Corpus case, (ADM Jabalpur v. Shivkant Shukla AIR 1976 SC 1207) where the SCI pronounced the pro-government judgment with 4:1 majority. 28 Kannabiran [33] has also argued regarding the placing of a Manu statue in the precincts of the Rajasthan High Court and the controversy around it that whether statues have only decorative value or do they also symbolise and represent something. ...
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The neutrality of the art and architecture of courtrooms and courthouses has dominated the public perception in the Indian context. The courtroom design and the visual artistic elements present within these judicial places have very often been considered to be insignificant to the notions of law and justice that they reflect. As art and architecture present certain historical narratives, reflect political allegories and have significant impact on the perceptions of their viewers, they have critical socio-political ramifications. This makes it pertinent to explore them and investigate the paradox of their deployment and interpretation in today’s increasingly mediatized world. Through an ethnographic study of the Supreme Court of India, this paper interprets its art and architecture, and, the symbolism and semiotics reflected through them. Arguing against their neutrality and insignificance, the paper demonstrates how they reflect nationalism, certain ideologies and power-space dynamics. It further argues that they act as evidence of political metaphors related to justice, power and democracy. With a conversation between law, architecture and semiotics, the paper investigates the historical and spatial dimensions of its architecture and artistic elements. Mapping the Court’s architectural elements, I examine how the visual representation of ‘justice as virtue’ finds translation in its design through transfer of certain images, including the image of the ‘scales of justice’, into it, while absenting the notion of ‘justice as struggle’—to contemplate on how legal architecture gives evidence to the vexed relationship between law and justice and also of the break from the colonial past
... Many countries have adopted it, including the United States, Canada, Australia, Great Britain, Italy and the Netherlands (Lanzara and Patriotta, 2001;Lederer, 2005;Wallace, 2008;Henning and Ng, 2009). Some publications (Babcock and Johansen, 2011;Biolley, 2013;Bossan, 2011;Braun, 2013;Danet, 2010;Diamond et al., 2010;Dumoulin and Licoppe, 2013;Gertner, 2004;Garofano, 2007;Henning and Ng, 2009;Kodek, 2012;Rowden, 2013;Salyzyn, 2012;Wallace, 2008) have identified several major areas of concern with the use of videoconferencing, in particular in the field of criminal law (Dumoulin and Licoppe, 2016: 315-318). ...
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