Texans for Lawsuit Reform

Through political action, legal, academic and market research, and grassroots initiatives, TLR fights for common-sense reforms that keep Texas open for business.

  • About TLR
    • Our Mission
    • Our Team
    • Timeline of Reforms
  • Videos
  • Issues
  • Resource Center
    • Special Reports
    • In the News
    • Press Releases
    • The Advocate
    • TLR Blog: For the Record
    • Invite a TLR Speaker
  • Get Involved
  • Contact Us
  • Donate
  • Stay Informed
In the News

Remote Court Hearings Likely Here to Stay: Texas Judicial Council Will Make Request to Lawmakers

Texas Lawyer, September 24, 2020

By Angela Morris

Virtual court hearings could be here to stay if a Texas Judicial Council resolution passed Thursday finds success with lawmakers and judicial leaders.

The Texas Supreme Court has passed COVID-19 emergency orders that allowed courts across the Lone Star State to use videoconferencing to conduct court hearings and even virtual jury trials. But those emergency orders rely upon Gov. Greg Abbott’s declaration of a state of emergency because of the pandemic.

But when the governor’s COVID-19 emergency declaration expires, it would mean that courts can no longer use Zoom, explained Judge Ed Spillane, the chairman of the Public Trust and Confidence Committee of the judicial council, which is the policymaking body of the Texas Judiciary.

“These remote proceedings may have helpful benefits to courts, post-pandemic, in terms of allowing access to the courts,” said Spillane, the presiding municipal court judge in College Station. “These hearings will never replace in-person proceedings—and they shouldn’t—but in terms of access to justice, accessibility, efficiency, we would like to have the ability in certain situations to be able to use the remote software.”

Texas judges have held more than 450,000 hearings with 1.45 million participants during the pandemic from March to September, said the public trust and confidence committee’s report and recommendations. There are now almost 1,200 YouTube channels for Texas courts, it added.

“Not only did judges use the tools made available to them to continue providing access to justice during the pandemic, they found the tools had significant advantages over in-person proceedings in certain types of cases and hearings,” the report said.

Judges report that litigants participate more during Zoom hearings because using the platform is easy—all they have to do is log on to their computer or mobile device. The report said judges also report that litigants, lawyers and judges are saving money by not having to travel to and from court. Also, the demand for remote court interpreters has increased by 50% between March and August, compared to the same time period in 2019, the report said.

Lawyers also think positively about remote court. A survey of 3,000 Texas lawyers in June 2020 said that 93% of respondents have a positive or neutral impression of their remote hearings. Although 44% of respondents said remote hearings are worse than in-person hearings, there were still 73% who said the remote hearings were effective, the report said.

The judicial council approved the committee’s recommendation to ask the Texas Legislature and the Texas Supreme Court to remove barriers for courts to keep using remote court proceedings and court innovations after COVID-19 passes.

The report explained, “Any statutory or rule barriers to holding remote proceedings outside a disaster declaration, should be removed.”

Follow us on Facebook

Comments Box SVG iconsUsed for the like, share, comment, and reaction icons

Texans for Lawsuit Reform

21 minutes ago

Texans for Lawsuit Reform

Abusive commercial vehicle lawsuits are jeopardizing small businesses and the essential services Texas families rely on. As our state works to recover from the pandemic and from the recent devastating winter storm, we can’t let lawsuit abuse kill these critical jobs and endanger our supply chain. Read the Keep Texas Trucking Coalition’s statement regarding Senate Bills 17 and 207 and House Bills 19 and 1617 here: bit.ly/3b5m5ZN ... See MoreSee Less

Statement by the Keep Texas Trucking Coalition on SB 17, SB 207, HB 19 and HB 1617 – Keep Texas Trucking Coalition

bit.ly

AUSTIN—The Keep Texas Trucking Coalition (KTTC) today released the following statement regarding Senate Bills 17 and 207 and House Bills 19 and 1617, which address abusive lawsuits against owners an...
View on Facebook
·Share

Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Linked InShare by Email

  • Likes: 0
  • Shares: 0
  • Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook

Texans for Lawsuit Reform

36 minutes ago

Texans for Lawsuit Reform

Abusive commercial vehicle lawsuits are built on presenting misleading evidence to the jury—whether inflated medical bills or prejudicial evidence about a commercial vehicle operator’s conduct. We cannot expect juries to arrive at a fair decision when given misleading, extraneous and purposely prejudicial information. Read TLR’s statement regarding our efforts to end abusive lawsuits against commercial vehicle owners here: bit.ly/3q1OzaZ ... See MoreSee Less

Link thumbnail

TLR Statement on SB 17, SB 207, HB 19 and HB 1617

bit.ly

Texans for Lawsuit Reform (TLR) today issued the following statement regarding its efforts to end abusive lawsuits against commercial vehicle owners.
View on Facebook
·Share

Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Linked InShare by Email

  • Likes: 1
  • Shares: 0
  • Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook

Texans for Lawsuit Reform

3 days ago

Texans for Lawsuit Reform

Facing tough questions from state senators, embattled Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton defended his office’s failed effort to overturn presidential election results in key battleground states and its decision to spend millions of dollars on a lawsuit against Google. Read and share: bit.ly/3k1cO7S ... See MoreSee Less

Link thumbnail

Texas senators grill embattled Attorney General Ken Paxton over election lawsuit, Google case

bit.ly

Facing tough questions from state senators, embattled Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton defended his office’s failed effort to overturn presidential election results in key battleground states and i...
View on Facebook
·Share

Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Linked InShare by Email

  • Likes: 1
  • Shares: 1
  • Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook


Follow us on Twitter

lawsuitreform avatarTLR@lawsuitreform·
36m 1366508585111482371

Read TLR's statement regarding our efforts to end abusive lawsuits against commercial vehicle owners here: https://bit.ly/3q1OzaZ #txlege #lawsuitreform #tortreform

Reply on Twitter 1366508585111482371Retweet on Twitter 1366508585111482371Like on Twitter 1366508585111482371Twitter 1366508585111482371
lawsuitreform avatarTLR@lawsuitreform·
26 Feb 1365406485400981509

Sign up for the TLR Weekly News Roundup to receive a daily digest of headlines & news stories about lawsuit reform from Texas & around the country!

Sign up for the TLR Weekly News Roundup!

Please use the form below to receive a daily digest of TLR Clips - headlines and news stories about lawsuit reform from Texas and around the country.

bit.ly

Reply on Twitter 1365406485400981509Retweet on Twitter 1365406485400981509Like on Twitter 13654064854009815091Twitter 1365406485400981509
lawsuitreform avatarTLR@lawsuitreform·
26 Feb 1365346286115958793

Embattled Texas AG Ken Paxton defended his office’s failed effort to overturn presidential election results in key battleground states & its decision to spend millions of dollars on a lawsuit against Google. Read & RT: #lawsuitreform #tortreform

Texas senators grill embattled Attorney General Ken Paxton over election lawsuit, Google case

Facing tough questions from state senators, embattled Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton defended his office’s failed effort to overturn presiden...

bit.ly

Reply on Twitter 1365346286115958793Retweet on Twitter 1365346286115958793Like on Twitter 13653462861159587931Twitter 1365346286115958793

Texans for Lawsuit Reform
1701 Brun Street
Houston, Texas 77019

Ph. 713-963-9363
  • About TLR
  • Our Mission
  • Our Team
  • Timeline of Reforms
  • Videos
  • Issues
  • Resource Center
  • For the Record
  • Special Reports
  • In the News
  • Press Releases
  • Invite a TLR Speaker
  • Get Involved
  • Invite a TLR Speaker
  • Donate
  • Stay Informed
  • Contact TLR

Copyright © 2021 · Texans for Lawsuit Reform. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2021 · Texans for Lawsuit Reform.
All rights reserved.
Privacy Policy