Illinois Supreme Court Remote Court Proceedings Guidance Document

Remote Court Proceedings – Guidance Document

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The Supreme Court’s March 17, 2020, order in response to the COVID-19 pandemic directed

Illinois courts to hear “essential court matters and proceedings” and further authorized courts to

conduct both essential and nonessential matters and proceedings remotely, subject to constitutional

and practical limitations. On May 22, 2020, the Supreme Court entered an order authorizing circuit

courts to return to hearing court matters, whether in person or remotely, according to plans adopted

by the chief judges. This order instructs that “Local plans should continue to promote the use of

remote hearings where appropriate.”

In support of these orders, the following guidelines and best practices are provided to aid Illinois

courts operating virtual courtrooms as a method of serving the public during the COVID-19

pandemic and beyond. These guidelines are not intended to apply to the operation of closed-circuit

court communication systems.

Much already has been learned by early-adopters in Illinois and some Illinois courts have created

excellent resource documents that further detail effective use of remote video hearings. In seeking

to provide instruction and guidance, particularly to those courts just starting to use remote hearings,

it is readily apparent that this document cannot anticipate every situation that will arise when a

court conducts a remote hearing, particularly during a public health crisis. Additional study will

continue to inform and allow for improvements and additional best practices not covered herein,

and this document will be periodically updated, as needed, to reflect these system improvements.

I. Public Access to Court Proceedings

Courts should make all reasonable efforts to ensure and accommodate public access to non-

confidential court proceedings. To that end:

• Any court hearing conducted over Zoom, WebEx, Teams or other video conferencing

platform should be capable of livestreaming in a static format, such as YouTube or

other similar service. YouTube is preferable, as the user can enable a “Do Not Record”

watermark to be placed over the live video. Livestreaming by the courtroom host is

permissible under Supreme Court Rules and policies, but video or audio recording by

any party, attorney, or any member of the public is strictly prohibited. The court should

make this prohibition clear and inform that failure to comply may result in the

imposition of sanctions or a finding of contempt.

• Account names displayed on YouTube should identify the Judicial Officer holding the

hearing via videoconferencing technology and be formatted in the following way:

Judge , Judicial Circuit, County.

II. General Considerations

a. Consider the capabilities of court patrons to participate via video conference or

telephone and whether the selected method is accessible for persons with

disabilities. Consider that some litigants may have no access to internet or wi-fi.

b. When using video conferencing services, use meeting specific passwords (sent to

participants in an invitation) to aid in preventing unauthorized participants from

joining the remote hearing. This will enable better overall security for the court

and all case participants involved.

 If possible, determine if the video conferencing service uses end-to-end

encryption for all remote hearings. Information technology personnel

should be able to assist with this assessment and help identify additional

security features.

 Use a Waiting Room for hearings that allows the judge or designated staff

to preview and admit only those parties necessary to the case at hand. This

prevents participants from joining a remote hearing before the host has

joined and is ready to begin.

c. Pre-Hearing Considerations:

 In advance of any remote hearing, test the remote video hearing and include

as many participants as possible.

 Test audio and video recording.

 Preview the lighting, background, camera location, and screen name for the

judge and court officials.

d. Do not share or post the meeting details publicly.

e. At the outset, only allow the Host to be a presenter in a remote hearing/meeting.

f. If recording a hearing, notify all participants that the remote hearing is being

recorded and the procedure for accessing it or the official record.

g. Create a process for informing case participants how they can participate in remote

hearings and how the public may observe the remote hearings. Consider drafting

plain language instructions about how to participate or observe and have a plan for

disseminating that information.

III. Conducting the Hearing

a. All efforts should be made to keep the same measure of decorum in your remote

hearings as in your courtroom proceedings.

b. The court or clerk should provide an email to counsel/parties of record for

submitting documents and exhibits prior to or during the hearing. In this way, if

the judge wishes to share a screen with counsel/parties of record, it is in the judge’s

control.

c. Begin with a simple admonishment about the following:

i. Counsel and all case participants should behave as if they were present in

the courtroom;

ii. Recording the proceeding is not allowed by anyone except the Official

Court Reporter or the court through the approved recording system;

iii. A violation of either of these rules constitutes contempt of court.

iv. Additional admonishments to ensure a quality record are attached below.

d. Remind all participants that they are beginning the hearing in Mute status and that

they may unmute themselves to respond to questions, etc.

e. Ask the case participants if they can hear what is being said and to indicate

immediately if they cannot. Inform how to adjust volume or address other audio

issues.

f. Add a staff member as a Co-Host, if possible, in order to have someone to admit

people from the waiting room (if using Zoom), monitor screen activity, send

offensive participants into the waiting room, mute and unmute individuals, etc.

g. Be certain to allow time for responses to questions and clarify discussion that may

have been subject to overlapping speakers due to bandwidth or a delay in

transmission. This will help to ensure a clean recording.

h. Provide a method to enable confidential communication between a party and the

party’s counsel. A defendant in a criminal case must have the ability to confer

privately with counsel during a remote hearing. As an example, an attorney can

meet confidentially with his or her client in a Zoom “breakout room” then the host

can move the parties back to rejoin the hearing when they are finished meeting.

Defendants in custody should be able to participate in a setting that allows for

private conversations with counsel without others present.

i. When using a video remote interpreter, the hearing should be conducted in the

consecutive mode with pauses in between each statement. The simultaneous mode

of interpretation can be used if the court is using a videoconferencing platform with

that feature (such as Zoom business or enterprise), but consecutive interpretation is

preferable and makes a better record.

IV. The Electronic Record

Supreme Court Rule 46 (Official Record of Court Proceedings) allows for recording of court

proceedings by “stenographic means or by an electronic recording system, including video

conferencing services, approved by the Supreme Court.” The following describes approved use of

recordings made by video conferencing services under Rule 46.

• At all times during the making of the record, the court shall be in total control of the means

of recording, regardless of platform, and may not delegate that control to any attorney,

party or witness to the proceeding.

• If Court Reporting Personnel as defined under SCR 46(c) are available to take the record

of a remote hearing via stenographic means or by means of an electronic recording system

approved by the Supreme Court, they shall do so under the direction of the judge.

• Only if the record is not taken by stenographic means or hard-wired digital recording

system:

o The judge may use an approved video conferencing service selected from a list

compiled and maintained by the AOIC.

o The service used for video conferencing must be capable of making a recording

that produces a reliable verbatim record of the proceeding.

o The electronic recording produced by the court should be saved and secured locally,

on a computer or server that provides a secure storage platform. The recording

should not be archived and left on the video conferencing service’s cloud. Security

should be used to prevent access to the electronic recordings, thereby allowing

access to only the judge and court reporting personnel.

o Consistent with Supreme Court Rule 46, the electronic recording from an approved

video conferencing service may be used in the preparation of the transcript that

serves as the official record of court proceedings.

o Judges and Court Reporting Personnel should work together to determine the best

configuration of technology at the courthouse or other locations that will produce

the most clear and reliable verbatim record of the proceedings.

SUGGESTED SAMPLE ADMONISHMENTS TO PARTICIPANTS FOR

VIDEOCONFERENCES AND CONFERENCE CALL HEARINGS (FOR HEARINGS

WITH COURT REPORTER PRESENT)

*Ask all participants to identify themselves before going on the record. Ask each individual if they

can hear the other participants.*

THE COURT: This hearing is being conducted via [VIDEOCONFERENCE/

TELECONFERENCE], and there are some things to go over to ensure a good record. A court

reporter is in attendance, and the transcript of this proceeding is the official record. The record will

only be as good as you make it, so here are the things you should keep in mind:

• We have multiple participants on this line. If you are not speaking, mute yourself so we

don’t pick up background noise or unwanted audio feedback. Take a moment to locate your

mute button now.

• (For hearings with an interpreter) We have multiple participants on this line, including an

interpreter for the litigant(s) (pause). To allow the interpreter to do their job in the

consecutive mode, all speakers must pause after each statement (pause). Be prepared to be

interrupted by the court interpreter or what you say will not be accurately communicated

to the litigant (pause). If you are not speaking, mute yourself so we don’t pick up

background noise or unwanted audio feedback. Take a moment to locate your mute button

now.

• When you want to speak, unmute yourself and identify yourself by stating your last name.

Identify yourself each time we change who is speaking, otherwise, the court reporter may

have a difficult time determining who you are. If you have an objection, you may want to

state “Objection by [Name or other identifying title/party/etc.].”

• Be prepared to be interrupted by the court reporter for clarification or you will appear in

the transcript as “unidentified speaker.”

• When you do speak, stay close to and face your microphone. If you cannot be heard, you

are going to have a poor record.

• If the court reporter must consistently interrupt to ask to repeat something, you will not

have a good flow of this hearing.

• Verbal responses are essential. Do not nod your head to respond.

• Speak slowly and pause before and after responses.

• Be careful about talking over another speaker. Even in-person, it’s much harder for the

court reporter to take down what’s being said if people speak at the same time or interrupt

one another. In this case, competing audio may cause a complete loss of what is being said.

Please be very mindful of that.

• Lastly, this is a formal proceeding. Treat it as if you are present in the courtroom.