Professor Mary Hoopes Presents "The Future of Virtual Proceedings in the Federal Courts" -- Federal Courts' Advisory Committee on Civil Rules

Professor Mary S. Hoopes presented "The Future of Virtual Proceedings in the Federal Courts," her forthcoming essay in the Indiana Law Journal, co-authored with judge Jeremy Fogel, to the federal courts' Advisory Committee on Civil Rules. The remote presentation took place on July 30. 

Abstract of "The Future of Virtual Proceedings in the Federal Courts"

In this essay, we draw on twenty-eight in-depth interviews with federal judges and clerks of court to suggest that the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure should be amended to allow judges to rely upon virtual proceedings more frequently. We argue that at least some of the rationale for prohibiting or severely limiting the use of such proceedings has been superseded by advances in technology, and that expanding judges’ discretion to permit their use in civil cases would increase access to justice and help to restore the public’s perception of the judicial process.