MONROE — Local circuit court hearings are now streaming live on YouTube for the public to view.
An increasing number of Wisconsin courts are using online videoconferencing and live-streaming services to keep courts operating and accessible to litigants and the public during the COVID-19 pandemic, Director of State Courts Randy R. Koschnick announced April 10.
Both branches of Green County Circuit Court have YouTube accounts where public hearings are streamed live, but not archived. About two dozen other counties across the state are doing the same, including Lafayette, Rock and Dane.
Jennifer Prien, judicial assistant for Green County Judge Thomas Vale, said as of April 15 they’re working out kinks in the system and it’s been a learning experience. That morning, a firearm surrender hearing in a civil case in Vale’s courtroom appeared to stream live to YouTube without issues.
The new technology is in keeping with the governor’s order March 25 “Safer at Home,” which directs citizens to stay at home, practice social distancing and not gather in groups.
Green County indefinitely suspended most in-person court appearances in an emergency order March 19. Hearings for the majority of criminal cases have been postponed to the summer. However, some hearings are still taking place via phone- and video-conference, including bail hearings, initial appearances and divorce proceedings, and those that are open to the public are streamed on YouTube in real time.
Links to Green County’s YouTube accounts are at greencountycourts.com. A complete list of participating “e-courts” is at wicourts.gov/ecourts/livestream.htm. Court calendars are searchable by county at wcca.wicourts.gov/courtOfficialCalendar.
The state’s court system has issued online videoconferencing accounts to each of the state’s 249 circuit court branches and is encouraging judges to livestream proceedings, Koschnick said. Parties, attorneys and others can make court appearances via audio or video from remote locations, and judges are able to control admission to video conferencing sessions, while attorneys and clients are able to hold separate breakout conversations as needed.
“This technology makes it possible for our courts to keep cases moving, while protecting the health of people who would otherwise be in the same courtroom. Just as important, the public and media are able to observe open proceedings as they are happening, despite the pandemic,” Koschnick said in a statement.
