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Ride The Lightning (RTL) Blog Featured In PinHawk’s Law Technology Digest

June 18, 2020

Recently, the Ride the Lightning post “Texas Holds First Zoom Jury Trial” was featured in PinHawk’s Law Technology Digest blog. Ride the Lightning is an electronic evidence and cybersecurity blog written by Sensei’s President, Sharon Nelson. PinHawk helps thousands of professionals keep up–to–date through emails and web alerts.

 Excerpt:

 Everything is Zoom

You will be interested to learn that “Potential jurors in Collin County, Texas logged in by laptop, smartphone and tablet from home for a so-called summary jury trial, in which jurors hear a condensed version of a case and deliver a non-binding verdict as part of an alternative dispute resolution proceeding.” Sharon Nelson asks, “A non-binding jury verdict is one thing, but how would Zoom handle civil and criminal trials?” If lockdown continues, we may very well find out!

 RTL blog excerpt:

On May 22, Reuters blogged about a story everyone in legal wanted to follow, the first time a state (Texas) held a jury trial through the videoconferencing application Zoom.

Potential jurors in Collin County, Texas logged in by laptop, smartphone and tablet from home for a so-called summary jury trial, in which jurors hear a condensed version of a case and deliver a non-binding verdict as part of an alternative dispute resolution proceeding.

Judge Emily Miskel helped oversee the trial, which involved a lawsuit alleging insurer State Farm of failing to honor its obligations to cover a building’s property damage caused by a 2017 storm.

In an interview, Judge Miskel said things went better than expected. The jurors reported that they all liked it. Jurors who had served on in-person juries preferred the online format. It was more time-efficient, there was no driving to the courthouse, and no waiting. They also felt they could see the evidence and the witnesses more clearly.

Read the entire RTL Blog post here.