If memory serves, a character in the TV series 24 was tried for an alleged treasonous act in an episode during one of its rather forgettable seasons (must be why I can’t fully remember the scene; and I’m an a Bauer fanatic). During this character’s hearing, all the major players were present.
But they were not physically present.
The accused, along with his counsel, was in a room where a couple of monitors were hooked up via Cisco Telecom (product placement!). All the other major players in the hearing were broadcasting—in real time—from their own individual locations spread across the North American continent.
While this is fiction, it’s not science fiction. One need not be a rocket scientist to figure out that what happened in that episode of 24 can happen in real life. The technology is here, clearly.
The use of current technology in the administration of justice is an alluring prospect. Centralized and easily accessible databases for laws and jurisprudence. Paperless correspondence, and service and filing of pleadings and motions. Hearings and similar proceedings conducted on cyberspace, made all the more public via streaming capabilities. The possibilities are just (place any superlative adjective here).
But this picture may still be generations away. “Can’t teach old dogs new tricks” holds true? Maybe. The conservative nature of the judiciary extends to how it administers its business? Perhaps. Our Third World circumstance stalls efforts at keeping pace with technology? There’s a (not-so-surprising) thought.
And yet, the idea of administration of justice ably enhanced by technological innovations is intoxicating. For now, I suppose we’ll have to settle for Justice on Wheels.
- William G. Ragamat
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