As courts go, the Civil District Courts in Harris County, Texas are relatively high-tech. We have fairly modern audio-visual equipment in each courtroom. Lawyers can electronically file documents, and since around 2008, all of the courts are “paperless.” By this I mean that our case files are now kept digitally. Electronic filings go straight to the file without being printed out, and paper filings are scanned into each case file. Thanks to the Harris County District Clerk’s Office, lawyers can access documents in case files on the internet.
This has greatly diminished the volume of paper handled by the Civil District Courts. But it does not mean the judges have less to read. (The number of new cases in Harris County has actually risen since 2008.) Instead, it has led us judges to change how we read, absorb, and analyze materials submitted for our consideration. We all pretty much read case files on our desktop computers. We can also access our files remotely on laptops via several options for secure access. And a few of us have started using iPads to review briefs and motions. But I think this is just the start.
I received my iPad 2 in April and have worked with the IT departments of the District Courts and the District Clerk’s Office to find some great ways to securely access briefs and exhibits in an organized, efficient way. I can now download all the briefs and exhibits related to any motion on my docket onto my iPad to review later using an app called GoodReader. If I need to review any additional materials for a case, I can access them securely on my iPad through a VPN connection or a Citrix client app.
Legal research has become even more efficient. I now have the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, as well as the entire set of Texas statutes, including the Texas Constitution, all of the Texas codes, and the Revised Civil Statutes, on my iPad via RealTek’s Texas Rules and Texas Statutes apps. (The printed volumes take up about 8-10 bookshelves in my office.) So instead of having to run back to my chambers in the middle of a hearing to look up an obscure statutory reference (or as an alternative to logging onto Westlaw or Lexis), I can simply open up these apps and look up the rule or statute being cited to me.
Similarly, case research has become much more handy. I recently have begun using Westlaw’s iPad app, WestlawNext, for research and have found it quite useful at times. If all you need is a particular case and your Westlaw subscription does not cover WestlawNext, Fastcase has published an iPad app that provides quick access to cases, albeit without any headnotes or subsequent history information.
You can even get law dictionaries on your iPad. While the Black’s Law Dictionary app is a little pricey for me (I tend to download only free apps or iBooks), I do have Nolo’s free law dictionary for use when I need to know the difference between a cestui que use and a cestui que trust.
Of course, I have downloaded one of the free Constitution apps available on iTunes. And through iBooks, I have a free copy of certain secondary authorities, like The Federalist Papers and Democracy in America.
But I see so much more potential for this device. As lawyers and parties look for ways to reduce costs, I think videoconferencing may become more prevalent. Before the iPad, equipment costs made videoconferencing cost-prohibitive under our tight budgets. But now it is an option worth considering for hearings and status conferences given the number of videoconferencing apps like FaceTime, Skype, WebEx, and Yahoo Messenger, among others.
District judges in Texas have a very small staff. Few, if any, have a secretary, so having speech-recognition software like Dragon Dictation’s iPad app could help us draft materials more quickly. The various note-taking apps give us the opportunity to take notes on the bench or at home while listening to arguments and testimony or reading briefs and keep these notes in an organized manner and close to hand.
These are just some of the uses I have for the iPad as a judge. I am sure there are more on the way. I look forward to exploring them.
Written by Hon. Dan Hinde
269th District Court, Harris County
