The Gazette 1992

GAZETTE

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1992

and it is indicative of the progress likely to be found throughout the Commonwealth of Australia. There has been some resistance from the police, who have found it necessary to expend money on the acquisition of computers for purposes lower on their priorities, and in respect of which they foresaw lower gains in efficiency. Similar opposition occurred in respect of the placement of regu- latory offences on computer some years ago. Major initiators of such prosecutions were municipalities, most of wh om resisted the acquisition of the necessary com- puters to allow electronic trans- mission. The manual system was retained to operate concurrently with the electronic system. The city of Melbourne had no such inhibitions, and very soon after it was installed, many of the oppon- ents engaged the Melbourne City Council to process their prose- cutions, that being far cheaper to them than continuing to operate the older manual system. The result has been the rapid disuse of the manual system - a firm indicator of the real saving in costs. Civil Sys t em Such is the importance of the criminal jurisdiction that it was decided to give it the advantages of computerisation first. However, at the same time a pilot study was introduced in one area of civil litigation, that of default recovery of civil debt. The area was domin- ated by four debt collecting firms who accounted for 90% of all process issued. A fully computer- ised system was introduced, with the four firms supplying the sum- monses by electronic means. The Magistrates Court undertook the entry of defences and of the orders disposing of the matters. Terminals were supplied at the counter for the public. The system has worked well, producing a more efficient administration by the courts, and a reduction of costs by the debt collecting firms.

released at the moment. Once tested in the courts, the profession will be allowed access, and in the not too distant future, all process will be able to be lodged electroni- cally. Decisions will be recorded electronically and disseminated similarly. Work is under way on the prepara- tion of similar systems for the superior courts. The period of time requested to be considered in the preparation of this paper is ten years. Within ten years, lawyers in Victoria will be lodging all court process by computer, and simul- taneously transmitting it to their opponents. Judges will be examin- ing that process by having access to a computer screen, or if they prefer, by a printed document pro- duced by the court computer. Orders of the Court will be recorded electronically, be available for inspection electronically and will be transmitted electronically. "Within ten years, lawyers in Victoria will be lodging all court process by computer, and simultaneously transmitting it to their opponents." Where there is an appeal, the file will be transmitted electronically to the appellate court. Notices of appeal will be lodged in the same fashion and it may well be that the combersome appeal books will be a forgotten relic of the past. The trial It is with the background of this statement of the present and fore- cast of the future that the impact of computers on the trial must be examined. It can be seen that the presence of a computer on the Bench is not merely inevitable, but in Victoria has happened. It has also happened on the Bar table. In a trial in which the author has been engaged for many months, the prosecution has two and some- times three computers on the Bar table. The defence also has a computer, it being linked by tele-

phone line to the minicomputer in the solicitor's office. The com- puters are unobtrusive in appear- ance, but not in their impact on the trial. Cou rt process If the whole of the court process is recorded on a computer, and is being examined by the judge referring to a computer terminal, it is far more sensible for the lawyer appearing in the matter to likewise employ a computer than it is to carry in printed copies. Of course, it is not necessarily a matter of deciding between the two. Many will always prefer to have a printed copy of important documents, even if on computer. There tends to be a mix between the two. This does not, however, deny the advantage of seeing what the judge is seeing as he is addressed. That brings the discussion, then, to a question of whether this does not detract from an open hearing - that is, open to the public. It may be said, with some force, that a debate between Judge and counsel that centres upon what each sees on a computer terminal necessarily excludes the public f r om meaningful observation of what is taking place. That is contrary to the concept of an open court. Such a problem arises at present with the use of written documents. Unless they are read in full in open court, the observer is exlcuded from knowledge of what is in them. With computers, it can be the same, but need not be. The written document may be portrayed on a screen by use of an overhead pro- jector; the computer image may, likewise, be so portrayed. Indeed, if the court is appropriately equipped, the computer image may be seen on a screen by the flick of a switch, whereas to do the same with a document necessitates first prepar- ing an overhead transparency. Hence the computer poses no greater difficulty than that at pres- ent encountered with documents, but may pose fewer problems in ensuring the hearing is conducted openly.

A system embracing all civil actions in the Magistrates Courts is being

36