New software is helping court systems do their jobs safely and successfully.
As the co-founder of Apple Steve Jobs stated, “The advance of technology is based on making it fit in so that you don’t really even notice it, so it’s part of everyday life.” This quote is especially essential given the current culture as a result of the global pandemic related to COVID-19. The entire nation and every aspect of our lives have been greatly affected by the virus; even courts have had to either completely cancel proceedings or offer very limited services because of the need to keep everyone safe.
Due to these overwhelming impacts, every business sector has been forced to adapt and innovate to remain not only necessary and relevant, but operational. Entities have to continue to serve their customers in the most effective and efficient manner, while also ensuring the overall health and safety of both employees and customers. This has left a number of business sectors scrambling to figure out exactly how to do this, and the court system has been greatly affected due to the sheer volume of face-to-face interaction necessary in its pre-pandemic processes.
Since courts did not have the capability to effectively and safely adapt to in-person court procedures that were in compliance with the CDC guidelines, while simultaneously complying with required constitutional obligations, coronavirus essentially caused the judicial system to come to a complete halt. The courts have begun using simple video-conferencing software to manage a portion of their daily operations; however, high-volume matters, including traffic court, convening of grand juries and jury trials have remained shut down and/or extremely limited. Moreover, the current available consumer videoconferencing software does not properly encrypt data, leaving otherwise private information exposed.
Enter iCourt, a new proprietary software developed and implemented by CTE, my technological company based out of Atlanta, Georgia. We are consistently developing technologies that are not only cutting-edge, but are also applicable and relevant for the times that we are currently facing, and iCourt is a perfect example. iCourt is an application designed specifically for virtual, audio/visual court sessions, including arraignment hearings, first-appearance hearings, motion hearings and trials. The application facilitates encrypted interactions between offenders and court staff, including the solicitor, public defender, probation officer, clerks, interpreter and the judge. The invention allows for private conversations between staff members and easy interface among all parties. Required legal documents can be generated and signed through the application, and relevant data is stored for future access. All proceedings are recorded and stored as required by law. As a result, iCourt universally solves all of the aforementioned issues for courts of any class and jurisdiction, while also allowing all parties to conduct business effectively and safely.
iCourt is currently available for purchase and use by municipal, state and federal court systems and is already being used by three municipal courts in Georgia.
The pandemic proves that it is necessary for companies and organizations to not only be flexible but also ready to use technology to adapt to circumstances beyond their control. CTE is committed to helping entities in all sectors stay not only operational and safe, but relevant and necessary.
Learn more at ctex-inc.com.
