a person looks at a computer screen with a video conference on it Photo: fizkes/Shutterstock.com

Electronic filing took years to roll out to all levels of the Texas judiciary.

But judges started using Zoom for their court hearings after only 10 days.

In eight weeks, the use of the technology has skyrocketed, according to data from the Texas Office of Court Administration.

Information about the number of Zoom meetings and participants shows that Texas judges rapidly embraced the video conferencing technology during a time that courts had few other options since courthouses were closed to visitors because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We're much further ahead than most other states," said the office's administrative director, David Slayton, who has studied other state courts' virus response as a member of the Conference of Chief Justices' pandemic rapid response team. "People have seen our experience, and heard from our judges, saying, 'This absolutely works.' Then they say, 'Let's do it.' They are all doing the same things we are doing."

Slayton explained that the Texas Supreme Court on March 13 issued its first COVID-19 emergency order, which authorized courts to hold remote hearings, among other things. Ten days later, on March 23, the office had rolled out the video conferencing software to the judiciary.

On that first day,  Texas judges together held 101 Zoom meetings. The peak number of meetings—1,083—happened May 14. That's a 972% increase in about eight weeks. There's a dip in the number every Friday.

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Source: Texas Office of Court Administration. Note: In one Zoom meeting, a judge can hold multiple hearings on different cases. The Texas Office of Court Administration conservatively estimates that every one meeting represents at least four hearings. Graphic: Angela Morris/ALM

As the number of Zoom meetings skyrocketed, so did the number of people who were participating in those meetings. The number went from 1,821 on March 24 to 12,067 on May 14, which is a 563% increase in participants.

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Source: Texas Office of Court Administration. Graphic: Angela Morris/ALM

Judges often use one Zoom meeting to call multiple cases for hearings. The administrative office has a conservative estimate that each Zoom meeting represents at least four hearings. Using that estimate, Slayton said that between 80,000 to 100,000 hearings have taken place over video conference during the pandemic.

Zoom uptake has been slower for judges in municipal, justice of the peace and child support courts because they need to snail mail hearing notices to the often pro se individuals in their cases. But other judges are handling between 60% and 80% of their dockets with the technology, he said.

Even after the coronavirus passes, and courtrooms open fully for in-person proceedings, Slayton said that Zoom will have a place in the Texas judiciary. Judges may allow a remote proceeding so that a lawyer won't have to travel from Dallas to Houston for a 30-minute hearing, for example. Video appearances may remain an option to save a witness or litigant from having to take off work and travel to the courthouse.

"It at least will be made available and maybe used regularly. Judges have seen they can be very efficient with it," Slayton said about Zoom. "I think we will see hearings back in the courtroom consistently."