How the California Supreme Court Transitioned to Remote Oral Arguments in Less Than a Month
"Once the courtroom was set up, it was really the justices and counsel that made it work effectively for all parties—although Judicial Council IT were onsite throughout to provide technical support if necessary—it was not required," said Cathal Conneely, the public information officer for the Judicial Council of California.
April 14, 2020 at 07:39 PM
2 minute read
Unlike the U.S. Supreme Court, California's high court is no stranger to streaming its oral arguments. The California Supreme Court has provided live webcasting of its oral arguments since May 2016, complete with English and Spanish captioning and hosting via cloud service provider Granicus. But when COVID-19 standing orders required the court to limit and distance attendees, court staff decided the crisis called for enhanced technology. And in less than a month, the court was ready to host its first fully remote oral arguments. Jorge Navarrete, the clerk and court executive officer, recommended combining Dolby Voice Room with BlueJeans meeting and conferencing technology to allow both justices and counsel to participate remotely and adhere to the orders. Judicial Council IT staff supplied the Dolby equipment and the BlueJeans account, said Cathal Conneely, the public information officer for the Judicial Council of California, and all participants had to do was to download the BlueJeans Client Software. "Once the courtroom was set up, it was really the justices and counsel that made it work effectively for all parties—although Judicial Council IT were onsite throughout to provide technical support if necessary—it was not required," Conneely said. The Friday before opening arguments, the court hosted a dry run with all justices and lawyers to give them the opportunity to test the technology and ask questions. "The court felt that it was important to safely continue the work of the high court and still be transparent and accountable to the media and the public it serves by enabling oral arguments to be accessible and viewable by all," Conneely said. Read more: As California's High Court Resumes Argument in Altered Format, Parties Adapt Judicial Council Adopts Emergency COVID-19 Rules on Civil Deadlines, Bail Judiciary Endorses Emergency Court Procedures Amid Virus Pandemic Governor Gives California Chief Justice 'Unprecedented' Authority to Address Pandemic
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