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The Indiana Supreme Court is accepting comments for two rule changes that would normalize remote hearings throughout the state and allow personal electronic devices in all courthouses.
The proposed changes come from recommendations made by the Indiana Commission on Indiana’s Legal Future.
Comments on the proposed changes will be accepted until May 5 at noon.
Justin Forkner, the commission’s co-chair and the court’s chief administrative officer, said these are big changes to the profession.
Currently, initial hearings and testimonials are conudcted in-person.
But Indiana Court of Appeals Judge and commission co-chair Nancy Vaidik said they can “absolutely be done remotely.”
The proposed change to Rule 14 would give a judicial officer the discretion to make a hearing remote.
The Office of Judicial Administration would develop guidance and best practices on remote proceedings and make them available on a public website.
“Courts should determine on a case-by-case basis whether telephone or video technology is appropriate for a remote proceeding,” the proposal reads. ” Hybrid proceedings are permissible. Some case participants may appear by telephone, some by video, and some in person, all in the same proceeding.”
Proposed Rule 23 would allow a person to bring a personal electronic device, like a cell phone or iPad, into all Indiana courthouses.
Vaidik said the structure would allow a person to “safely bring in your calendar, your life, your wallet, whatever it is, into a courthouse.”
Forkner said he thinks of pro se litigants in regards to this proposed change.
“It has all his evidence on a cell phone or in a scheduling next court date and they have to keep their cell phones outside the courtroom,” Forkner said.
The rule change would allow parties to the proceeding being heard and attorneys to use personal electronic devices inside a courtroom to check calendars, retrieve or store information, take notes, access electronic documents, access the internet, send and receive text messages or information, or present case-related information.
A witness may use their device in the courtroom with a judicial officer’s permission.
Members of the public cannot use their devices in the courtroom but are allowed in common areas of court facilities. All devices have to remain on “silent” or “vibrate” mode at all times in the courtroom.
If a judicial officer prohibits devices inside the courtroom in a particular case, then they must provide storage for the devices at no cost at the security entrance.
Photographs, audio and video recording are prohibited without a judicial officer’s prior approval. Cameras, video cameras, video recording equipment, and recording equipment not classified as a portable electronic devices are not allowed in the courthouse unless permitted in advance by a judicial officer.
Anyone who violates the rule may be removed from the courtroom or even the courthouse.
The devices can also be confiscated if the rule is violated, and the court is not responsible or liable for any unintentional damage to or loss of a confiscated device.
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