Zoom is legally here to stay. The Florida Bar Business Law Section held a judicial roundtable on June 17, 2020. Florida’s state circuit and appellate court judges made the decision Wednesday that this would be the new standard across the state. They all agreed that “Zoom proceedings are here to stay”. With the current status of the state’s pandemics expansion, closed courts see little option to reopen anytime soon. The value of such technologies in daily proceedings are an invaluable part of our society.
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A realistic solution was needed to make things more efficient for lawyers and judges. The burden of travel expenses on all parties involved needed to be reduced, let alone stopped due to health risks. With COVID-19 cases continuing to expand across the state, the need to keep people out of courtrooms is an unfortunate necessity. Such virtual platforms as Zoom and Skype are now the mainstream way to communicate all legal matters
The honorable Chief Judges: Jonathan Sjostrom of the Second Judicial Circuit, Chief Judge Jack Tuter of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, and Chief Judge Donald Myers of the Ninth Judicial Circuit court all agreed their courts will continue to embrace remote court proceedings, and take advantage of the opportunities the technology has to offer them. They have all determined they will continue to use this system after the COVID-19 crisis is over.
“The Ninth Judicial Circuit is taking virtual proceedings to the next level by participating in a pilot program to conduct jury trials remotely”, Judge Myers added.
Judge William Thomas believed that lawyers can evolve with the technology by being more brief in their writing, with a clear consideration that judges are processing hundreds of volumes of information electronically instead of printed documents. Reviewing so many documents virtually can be strenuous, but is essential during the COVID-19 era.
Judge Thomas also agreed that the change so far change to remote proceedings has been an overwhelmingly positive step for Florida’s courts, and that this use of technology must continue beyond the current public health crisis.
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