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The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania has long pioneered the emergence of electronic capabilities in case processing, fiscal management, judicial administration and in courtroom proceedings. Courtroom technologies in this district were introduced as early as June of 1995, expediting the litigation process, providing increased security and reducing costs associated with court appearances or presentations. In July of 1998, the Clerk of Court requested design and funding authorization from the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts in order to introduce integrated electronic courtrooms as part of a multi-phase prospectus level renovation project at the U.S. Courthouse in Philadelphia. The request was approved and, as a result, district judge courtrooms 17A, 17B, 15B, 10A, 3A and 3B, as well as magistrate judge courtrooms 3C, 3D and 3I, were outfitted with state-of-the-art technologies. In addition, expediting the litigation process, installation of the electronic capacities during the courtroom retrofit resulted in substantial cost savings. The first three electronic courtrooms were introduced in the fall of 2001. Additional courtrooms were brought online in 2002, 2003 and 2004. Currently, nine courtrooms have full electronic capabilities. Each includes technology designed to effectively manage and present evidence and testimony and support real-time court reporting. Components of the electronic courtrooms include Digital Evidence Presentation Systems (DEPS); Integrated Document Camera Systems; Integrated Video Conferencing Systems; VCRs and infrastructure enhancements that support multiple serial connections; and, flat panel monitors with annotation capabilities placed throughout the courtroom for the benefit of the judge and jury, counsel and litigants, court staff and members of the public. Since June 2003, Eastern District of Pennsylvania electronic courtrooms have been used 1,512 times. We expect a steady increase in the utilization of these resources as counsel become more familiar with system capabilities and begin to structure the presentation of evidence in a format easily accessible to the judges or juries using this technology. Hearings, trials, video depositions and video conferences have all been conducted in the electronic courtrooms. In one case, a trial was conducted using video conferencing technology with the presiding officer in Philadelphia and the parties participating from Istanbul, Turkey, 5,104 miles away. Video conferencing has also been used to conduct a trial with participants situated in Philadelphia and California, and the court also has made an electronic courtroom available to the U.S. Attorneys Office to conduct a preliminary pretrial proceeding with participants situated in London.
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