COURT TECHNOLOGY GLOSSARY
This Glossary of words, phrases, and initials is designed to help you interact with a local court more efficiently using electronic technology. This Guide will cover both technology for presentations in a courtroom and connecting to the court remotely. This is not legal advice or technology education. For legal or computer advice, please consult with a professional in that specialty.
For a more complete legal glossary, click HERE. For Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about court technology, click HERE.
If you have questions about the Court’s technology resources that are not answered here or in the FAQs, please call the bailiff in your assigned courtroom, or call the Court’s Computer Specialist at 513-732-7125.
- TECHNOLOGY AND COURTS
In-person proceeding—A court event in a case where everyone involved (parties, attorneys, and witnesses) is physically in the courtroom at the same time. The court event can be a hearing, oral argument, pre-trial, or status conference with a Judge or Magistrate. Courts are increasingly using technology in courtrooms to make in-person proceedings more efficient.
Remote access—The ability to hold a court proceeding such as a pre-trial conference, status conference, or court hearing where some or all of the parties and attorneys participates by a two-way video or audio connection.
Hybrid proceeding—A court proceeding where some of the participants appear in person while other participants appear remotely.
Video conferencing—Use of an online computer platform to allow people from different locations to see and hear each other at the same time on their computer, tablet, or smartphone screens. Examples of video conferencing platforms are Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Go-To-Meeting, Google Meet, WebEx, FaceTime, and others.
Platform neutral—The ability of people to use any type of computer or device to interact with the court. That interaction can be an in-court proceeding or by remote access. Examples of the multiple systems that would be acceptable are Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, iPad OS, Linux, and others. Someone seeking to interact with a court should check the local requirements to make sure the court is platform neutral, and if not, what systems are acceptable.
Bandwidth—A measure of the amount of data a remote connection can transmit and receive at any one time. A person does not need to know the exact number for the bandwidth of their Internet connection. However, if there are problems video conferencing with friends and family (picture freezes, screen image breaks up, unexpected disconnects, etc.) there might not be enough bandwidth in general for a video conference with a court.
- LAW AND COURTS GENERALLY
Note: This next section of this Glossary will give you some very basic words and phrases about the legal system to help you understand the rest of the Glossary. This is not legal advice. For a more complete legal glossary, click HERE. For Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about court technology, click HERE.
Law—The collection of rules and principles that controls how citizens, corporations and other entities, and government units (local, state, and federal) interact with each other for the common good. Criminal law specifies what conduct is subject to punishment. Civil law applies when private parties have a dispute.
A constitution sets out the basic structure and operation of government, describes what a government can and cannot do, and defines the rights of citizens. Case law is law made by judges over several years through written decisions in prior cases. Statutes are the legal principles created by elected representatives through the process of legislation. Ordinances are the legal rules enacted by local elected representatives and effective only in that city or township, such as zoning.
Court rules are written legal principles for court procedures in the resolution of pending cases. The Supreme Court of Ohio has adopted statewide rules for: Civil Procedure, Criminal Procedure, Juvenile Procedure, Evidence, Traffic court, and Appellate Procedure [LINK]. Local rules are written legal rules adopted by a local court for procedures in that specific court [LINK].
Law library—An organization for the collection, storage, maintenance, and retrieval of legal reference materials. These materials could include collected decisions of appellate courts, statutory law in the Ohio Revised Code and United States Code, rules of courts, and legal reference works. Most law libraries now have both computer research terminals and printed works. Many law libraries have links on their websites for connection to other resources [LINK]. The Supreme Court of Ohio has its own law library [LINK].
Online legal research—The process of accessing and learning about laws, court decisions, rules, and court procedures by use of computers and the Internet. Sites such as the Supreme Court of Ohio and local law libraries have online access to materials. The Ohio Revised Code [LINK] and Ohio Rules of Court [LINK] are available online. Most local courts have their local rules on their websites. Online legal research should be used very carefully as many web sites cover law from outside of Ohio.
Judge—A public official authorized to exercise the power of the court and make all decisions and rulings in all cases. In Ohio, judges are elected and preside over both criminal and civil cases. All judges are attorneys with at least six years of experience. Both Judges and Magistrates should be addressed as “Your Honor” in trials or hearings, whether in person or in an online court proceeding.
Magistrate—An attorney appointed by a court to preside over certain trials and hearings. Magistrates make some of the decisions and rulings on cases before the court. Magistrates exercise the same judicial authority as judges to make rulings when presiding over cases. Judges retain the legal authority to make final rulings in cases.
Trial—A formal court proceeding with the presentation of evidence and legal arguments to decide a case. Attorneys and parties may use courtroom technology to present evidence in court. Witnesses can sometimes appear remotely for a trial.
Hearing—A formal court proceeding where legal arguments and possibly evidence are presented for decision on certain parts of a case. Attorneys and parties may use courtroom technology to present evidence in court. A court can hold various hearings remotely.
Pre-Trial Conference (also called a pre-trial)—A discussion between a Judge or Magistrate and the attorneys to plan the future course of a case in court. In a pre-trial, the court can set schedules, establish deadlines for certain events, decide motions, determine the estimated length of the trial, discuss settlement or mediation, and handle other issues to insure the case progresses smoothly.
Status Conference/Scheduling Conference—A short conference between a Judge or Magistrate and attorneys focused on checking the progress of a case and setting dates and deadlines.
- CONNECTION HARDWARE IN A COURTROOM
USB—Stands for Universal Serial Bus, a standard cable that connects many computers, printers, keyboards, speakers, and other hardware to each other. Courts will sometimes supply USB connections for use with in-court presentations.
VGA—Stands for Video Graphics Array, a specific computer cable for displaying visual presentations on a monitor or projector. Courts will sometimes supply VGA cables for use with in-court video presentations.
HDMI—Stands for High-Definition Multimedia Interface, a specific computer cable for displaying video presentations. HDMI is usually used for high definition video on a monitor, flat screen TV, or projector. Courts will sometimes supply HDMI cables for use with in-court video presentations, especially recorded video depositions.
Coaxial—The type of cable used in homes for connecting a cable box to a TV. Courts will sometimes supply coaxial cables for use with in-court video presentations.
Ethernet or CAT-5—A computer cable for connecting a computer or other device to a local hardwired network or the Internet. These cables have a distinctive clip on each end. Courts might supply this type of cable for connection to a courtroom system.
ClickShare—A particular computer device that plugs into a USB port on a laptop or other computer and connects to a local Wi-Fi network. Click Share is used in some courtrooms instead of cables.
Fire Wire—An older type of computer cable, usually for connecting computers to hard drives. Courts might not supply this type of cable connection because its technology is not as fast as newer cables.
Lightning and USB-C—Current types of computer cables used with Apple computers, iPads, and iPhones. Courts might not supply these types of cable connection because of its specific association with Apple devices.
Flash drive/USB drive/thumb drive—Portable storage devices that retain computer files in solid state memory. Flash drives are NOT recommended for connection to courtroom systems because of the risk of virus contamination.
- REMOTE CONNECTION TO A COURT
Host—The person in charge of a video conference. The host, like the chair of a meeting, controls the topics discussed, and who talks when. In a video conference, the host exercises this control through software. A Judge or Magistrate is usually the host in a court proceeding conducted by video conference.
Waiting room—An electronic “space” in conferencing software where all attorneys and parties are asked to wait before a court video conference. A court bailiff may help a Judge or Magistrate by organizing participants in a waiting room before the conference starts. The host will make the decision on when to bring everyone in from the waiting room.
Mute—To have the audio portion of a video conference turned off. Some video conferencing platforms (Zoom for instance) start with the participants on mute, and they need to turn on their microphones to begin the discussion. In other situations, the host controls who is or is not muted.
Joint session—A portion of a video conference where everyone (court official, attorneys, parties, and others) are all electronically connected and able to see and hear each other. The host will determine when to be or not be in a joint session.
Breakout room—A separate electronic “space” where two or more participants (such as an attorney and client) can talk privately during a video conference with the court. Other participants are unable to see or hear the people in a breakout room.
Screen share—An electronic process where a participant can display a photograph or other document to the other participants in a video conference. Instead of seeing faces, all the participants will see the same document on their screens at the same time.
Whiteboard—A feature in some video conferencing platforms that allows participants to draw diagrams or charts on their screen and have that drawing visible to everyone else in the conference.
Mediation—A court process for settling cases, sometimes held by video conference. In mediation, a trained neutral called a mediator helps the parties and attorneys resolve their dispute through guided negotiations. Mediation is private and off-the-record. A mediator makes no decision in a case. Judges can order mediation in civil cases.
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This Glossary is not legal advice or technology education. For legal or computer advice, please consult with a professional in that specialty.
For a more complete legal glossary, click HERE. For Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about court technology, click HERE.
If you have questions about the Court’s technology resources that are not answered here or in the FAQs, please call the bailiff in your assigned courtroom, or call the Court’s Computer Specialist at 513-732-7125.
