May 2010

Interactive Realtime 201

By Sandy Bunch VanderPol

You're going live now with your interactive realtime skills. You're confident you have prepared successfully to meet the expectations of providing stellar interactive realtime service, including troubleshooting realtime connections, loading drivers, teaching counsel and the court the quick-and-easy functions on their realtime viewers, and, in the process, still managing to write "perfect" realtime!

You've come a long way to get to this point. You've overcome the "scared of writing realtime for anybody other than myself" mindset. You've gained confidence in your troubleshooting skills and you're prepared for any landmine that may rear its ugly head during the job. You've learned the basics of the most commonly used realtime viewer programs used by counsel. You've purchased all the equipment necessary to output your realtime and also have your backup equipment. And, most of all, you're ecstatic about the prospect of providing interactive realtime to your clients.

So, what's next?

For more information, click here.

Sandy Bunch VanderPol, RMR, CRR, is a credentialed Realtime Systems Administrator. NCRA's Realtime Systems Administrator Program will be held August 5-6 as part of the 2010 NCRA Convention in Chicago.

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Tech News

Court Rules that ADA Requires Captioning for Movies

On April 30, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires movie theaters to play closed captioned movies unless it would be an "undue burden." When ADA was originally enacted, the House of Representatives "stated that ADA does not require theaters to show open captioned movies," and that has been the accepted rule. The district court felt that the same rule should apply to closed captioning, but the Ninth Circuit disagreed. If the opinion stands, it will take effect in Arizona, California, Nevada, Idaho, Montana, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, and Hawaii.

For more information, click here.

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The Senate Judiciary Committee considered and favorably recommended two bills that would increase camera coverage in courts. The Sunshine in the Courtroom Act (S. 657) would allow chief district and appellate judges to permit cameras in the courts. The Committee also recommended S. 446, which would "require the [Supreme] Court to televise oral arguments unless the court voted, in a particular case, to prohibit live coverage."

For more information, click here.

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Text Messaging Heads to the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court will take on the issue of employer control over employee electronic and digital communications. The case is City of Ontario, Calif. v. Quon, and it questions whether a SWAT team member had a reasonable expectation of privacy when sending personal text messages on a SWAT pager. The case is being closely watched because the ruling could have major implications for private and public employees as well as for discovery of evidence.

For more information, click here.

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Supreme Court Rejects Same-Day Audio Request

For the first time in four years, the Supreme Court will go an entire term without allowing quickly released audiotapes. The precedent for same-day audio was set during Bush v. Gore. The current case is Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, and the court has denied requests from broadcasters seven times.

For more information, click here.

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Review Finds that California Case Management System Needs a Cost Cap

The Office of the State Chief Information Officer (OCIO) found that the state's case management system "needs a cost cap and a comprehensive plan to ensure that courts actually use it." The ultimate goal for the system is to coordinate the exchange of case management information across different kinds of courts. While there has been significant support from the judicial branch, some argue that it is not worth the $2 billion price tag and that it will be ineffective.

For more information, click here.

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Plaintiff Sues over Using LexisNexis for E-filing

In theory, courts implement e-filing in order to increase efficiency in the court, but one woman is taking issue with the system. A Texas woman has brought a case against Montgomery County, Texas, and claims that the requirement that civil litigants use LexisNexis for court filing violates the U.S. and Texas Constitutions. She believes that the requirement violates the open courts provision in the Texas constitution. In addition to this violation, her suit includes complaints about the fees charged for filing the documents using LexisNexis.

For more information, click here.

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Lawyers Get Creative to Cut Costs

The current economic conditions have forced businesses to reevaluate their business models. One Bristol, England, law firm responded to "technology and pressure from clients to cut costs" by establishing a "no-staff, paperless office model." The trio of lawyers outsource accounts services as well as their law library to online providers. They hope to attract new lawyers in the future with the promise of keeping a higher percentage of their billables due to the unique nature of the firm.

For more information, click here.

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NCRA's Tech Tracker is a service to NCRA members and provides a digest of recent news items relevant to the profession. The views expressed in the cited articles are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of NCRA.