Video Court and COVID

COVID provided the judicial system with an opportunity to experiment with video court. We all allowed ourselves a chuckle when we watched the YouTube video of the attorney stuck on a cat filter in a Zoom courtroom. Once the initial learning curve had passed and the longevity of COVID set in, attorneys and judges began to see the benefits of video court.

Currently, judges are analyzing how to incorporate these benefits into the traditional court experience. At the Datz Law Firm, we believe that video court offers efficiencies and transparencies that are valuable and ought to remain part of a modern courtroom.

Benefits of Video Court

Some of the benefits of video court are obvious and have a huge impact on litigants.

• It is much easier to log into a video conference than to drive to a courthouse.
• People without driver’s licenses and people who have difficulty taking a half-day off work all benefit from a quick, short video appearance.
• Victims, supporters, family members and the public are allowed greater access to court proceedings.
• Video appearances mean that long-distance clients don’t have to make travel plans to return for court
• Clients from all over Colorado can retain attorneys from anywhere in the state.

During the pandemic, the Datz Law Firm has been able to represent clients in Fairplay, Eagle, Grand Junction and other jurisdictions from our offices in Broomfield and Louisville.

How We support our clients with video court

The Datz Law Firm has fully embraced video court and has taken steps to overcome some of the difficulties associated with video appearances.

• First – if a hearing is going to require testimony and consultation, we will have clients join us at our offices for their video appearance. That way, we can continue to consult privately while appearing virtually.
• Second – if clients are appearing from a remote location, we have secondary phone lines and office-based text messaging available to maintain communication during a remote appearance.
• Third – we communicate early and often with opposing counsel to resolve cases and clarify issues in advance; we don’t rely on last-minute, negotiations in the hallway to resolve our cases.

We are trial lawyers and we fully expect that contested hearings and jury trials will largely return to a live courtroom. However, we also believe that the judicial system is often inefficient and that video appearances go a long way towards making the system more efficient and transparent.