by Paul R. Kiesel

Previously, I explored what the criminal justice system might look like in January of 2021. Now let's consider how the civil courts might change in the next 10 years.

Hopefully, e-filing will be a reality in 2021. Hard as it is to believe, we live and work in the cradle of technology. Silicon Valley is the incubator for the world's technology yet we (lawyers, judges, litigants), engage in the practice of law no differently than Abraham Lincoln or Clarence Darrow. Our attorney service still files reams of paper (though generated by computer and no longer handwritten), and it still takes days for documents to migrate from the clerk's window to the judge's courtroom. Much of the following vision is of a world that could exist today, but for the money to implement and necessary software development.

Robert Jones was seriously injured in an automobile accident caused by Susan Smith on Jan. 6, 2020. Smith, as you recall, was driving her father's Ferrari 604 when she failed to stop for a red traffic signal while traveling westbound on Sunset Boulevard at Beverly Drive. Jones was removed from his vehicle and transported to Cedars Sinai Medical Center where he was admitted with a broken left leg, left arm, head trauma and was unresponsive. Upon his arrival, the National Medical Database, which was established in the year 2016, through biometric confirmation of his identity, downloaded his entire medical history to emergency room physicians. Jones' physicians quickly identified several drugs that Robert was allergic to and were able to begin treating him immediately, using life saving techniques unheard of just a few years earlier.

When Jones' wife retained legal representation several days later, the firm first sent out preservation letters to the Beverly Hills Hotel, whose security cameras covered the intersection. Then, the firm obtained authorization to secure a copy of the Beverly Hills traffic camera's digital photographs and digital video. Additionally, preservation letters were sent to Smith's father, to protect the telemetry preserved in the Ferrari's onboard computer systems, as well as Jones' auto insurer to protect his vehicle's "blackbox" data. An accident reconstruction engineer was able to, in a matter of days, download and preserve the vehicle data that would confirm the Ferrari's speed as 62 miles per hour with brakes applied a mere .4 seconds prior to impact. Jones' vehicle showed a speed of 16 miles per hour and accelerating, with no evidence of pre-impact braking.

Using the Beverly Hills Police Department's integrated computer database, plaintiff's counsel were able to electronically purchase and download the police report, complete with diagrams, the officer's accident reconstruction analysis, and witness statements (which, by the year 2021, included video statements). A scan of the Los Angeles Times Web site revealed links to video blogs made by witnesses who, incidentally, did not show up on the police report but had posted additional thoughts and observations online. Plaintiff's counsel was able to have its investigator reach out to these additional witnesses to complete the investigation.

Given the severity of the injuries and the restrictive limits of Smith's personal insurance policy, a civil action was prepared. The action was filed directly with the Court Case Management System V9, which allowed for 24/7 filing (though filings after 4:30 p.m. were recorded on the following business day). The system also allowed firms to imbed images and video into the complaint. This allowed plaintiff's counsel to include in their complaint actual camera views captured by the city of Beverly Hills and the Beverly Hills Hotel.

The original complaint did not include a claim for punitive damages. When plaintiff's counsel discovered the social networking sites where Smith boasted of her speed conquests and featured photographs of the millions of dollars worth of cars she had previously totaled, the complaint was amended complaint to seek punitive damages. The filing of the amended complaint brought the first pleading challenge and motion to strike the punitive allegations. The demurrer and motion to strike, digitally filed by defendant's counsel, included the text of the moving party's position and counsel's actual oral argument. Plaintiff's counsel chose to respond in similar form and, once the brief was completed and ready for filing, oral argument was conducted before each firm's high definition 3-D camera. Responses were filed electronically.

On the day of the hearing, each firm logged onto the court's Web site where the court, having read counsels' arguments and listened to counsels' advocacy, welcomed us remotely into her courtroom. The judge asked if the parties had anything to add. As neither party did, the judge announced her ruling. (The parties also could have opted to submit to the court's tentative ruling, which had been electronically posted the evening before). The judge then set out her calendar of events, including an option for voluntary mediation or, if agreed by all parties, an expedited jury trial - the one-day jury trial implemented in 2011.

Some highlights of the pretrial discovery, unique to 2021, included video depositions of three witnesses, two residents of England and one from Italy, who were on board a sightseeing bus. For their depositions, the witnesses "appeared" at a "virtual" center in London and responded to questions posed by counsel from the comfort of our own offices in Los Angeles. No court reporter was needed since the testimony was captured on digital video and also simultaneously transcribed during the proceeding. Court reporters still existed but they were referred to as digital technology officers. Their job was to ensure the spoken word was accurately captured by the transcription technology and to certify the accuracy of the transcription. The Italian witness also provided her testimony via the "virtual" center. The computer instantly translated the questions and testimony, without the necessity of a court-certified interpreter. An official interpreter confirmed that the transcription was correct.

On the opening day of trial, the jury was called into the courtroom where 35 prospective jurors took their seats. Previously, each of the jurors had completed an electronic questionnaire that was downloaded by all counsel. The e-questionnaire contained a picture of the prospective juror and audio recording of the juror saying her name. The e-questionnaire, for those attorneys who subscribed to the Lexis-Nexis database, would search all available social media and Web sites to create a profile, based on counsel's own predefined criteria, of where the juror stood on the "keep or run far, far away" scale.

The jurors watched a three-minute digital opening presentation the attorneys had prepared to provide an overview of the trial, the medical issues to be presented, and a quick digital display of the name and face of each prospective witness. The jurors could view this data on personal tablet computers supplied by the courtroom. The tablet allowed jurors to spend more time viewing prospective witnesses to be certain they had no familiarity, and it allowed jurors to make confidential inquiries on any issue they were not comfortable discussing in "open court." The tablets also enabled the jurors to see video clips of witnesses, accident reconstruction and even the plaintiff's struggles in rehabilitation. The jurors could also pose questions to all counsel and the court, who would preview and decide whether or not to permit the question.

The jurors' ability to view evidence on their tablets, and even to have a set of the jury instructions, greatly increased trial efficiency and their overall experience. When deliberation ended, the foreperson used his personal tablet to post the jurors' award, respond to the special verdict form, and send an e-mail to the court that they had reached a verdict. The new and improved verdict process was far gentler to all involved.

So, there you have it: a peak at the court 10 short years from now. Again, the majority of these tools exist today; it's just a matter of money and implementation. An easy feat? Definitely not. But I can dream.