L.A. County Superior Court testing digital evidence system

Los Angeles County Superior Court, the largest unified trial court in the United States, on Monday began testing a digital evidence system to streamline the process for participants in small claims court.

The program started as a pilot project in the small claims departments of courthouses in Beverly Hills and Compton. Both will house scanners and kiosks connected to the system. Small claims litigants in these locations can upload and share photos, videos and documents prior to scheduled hearings, instead of physical copies, and share evidence via email opposing parties.

Using the online evidence system is not mandatory, but according county court’s website encourages people with small claims cases to upload evidence to the portal to save time.

“A Digital Evidence System will provide a way for litigants to submit their evidence efficiently in a way that reduces reliance on the use of paper, positively impacting the environment and enabling users to participate remotely,” read a statement the Superior Court provided to StateScoop by email.

In California, litigants, anyone involved in a lawsuit, in small claims cases are required to exchange evidence ahead of their hearing, which is traditionally done by physically producing and mailing copies to the opposing side.

The Los Angeles County Superior Court is the largest trial court in the nation, serving more than 10 million people.

The program assigns unique exhibit numbers to each piece of evidence for presentation at hearings, provides users receipts with thumbnail photos of the evidence and allows officers of the court to view the evidence online.

The Los Angeles County Superior Court employs more than 500 judicial officers and 5,000 staff members across its 38 courthouses.

The new system could be made available for additional case types in the court’s 36 remaining courthouses, depending on the results of the pilot program. It plans to collect feedback from litigants and judicial officers using the new system to measure its success, a spokesperson told StateScoop.

“Court leadership identified the Compton and Beverly Hills Courthouses as pilot locations based on the nature of their dockets and ability to provide an adequate sample size needed to collect meaningful feedback with minimal impact to the rest of the Court,” the court’s statement read.