Clark County Courts (Las Vegas) Keep The Public Informed Through Twitter, Facebook, Blogging, Websites, Online Filing & Whatever Comes Next

Clark County Courts: Twitter (@lvcourts), Blogging, Facebook, Mandatory E-Filing (as of February 2009), The Online Docket (Civil & Criminal & Probate), Online Ticket Payments, Clark County Court Public Access & Court Website

The Clark County Courts have really been stepping up the online effort. Ten years ago Clark County Courts version of 'online' meant Blackstone, which seems more akin to stone tablets than it does Twitter. Trying to look at a file involved waiting on a file clerk to pull the actual ('hard') file, standing at a small table next to the counter, pushing coins into the only public copy machine on the floor and shutting down an entire afternoon of productivity. Since the construction defect arena broke ground several years ago with e-filing, it has been a 90 degree upward trending learning curse with constant change for the Clark County Courts, all for the better.

Today, Clark County and Las Vegas stand as an example to other jurisdictions of "how to" use social media, "how to" manage your online presence, and "how to" improve your business practices through online access. This is in large part, at least as it appears to me, to be the managing effort of Michael Sommermeyer. You can find Michael on Twitter (@msmrmyr & @wordymouth), on his websites (at wordymouth.com and michaelsommermeyer.com) and on Facebook.

Recently I received the following slide show regarding social media in the Courthouse. Michael brings up some very important points here. Most importantly, I've again re-learned that technology blazes a trail that the law MUST follow. With Twitter and other social media, the Clark County Courts once again find itself in familiar shoes, adapting to technology and then finding that the laws & court rules need adjusting. The law always needs to catch up.

With Jurors texting, tweeting and posting their experiences & in some instances asking for help from the online community in making their decisions, there is an obvious danger with recent technological advances. However, I don't think that this concept of "leaking" is really all that new. My belief is that this kind of "leaking" communication has always occurred. Now, it's merely 'more open' and thus easier to track. With the ease of use of these new technological developments, it is likely that the frequency of occurrence of the "leak" has increased, meaning that some people are communicating "leaks" with the new technology, whereas, before, they may not have expressed themselves in a face-to-face encounter. While information flows more freely from the courthouse, allowing instant news (e.g. HERE), it also allows for the potential improper flow of the information through the same channels (e.g. HERE).

Your Court’s All-A-Twitter

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In the following video, Michael indicates that there are "good rewards" from social media. We are humans and we desire & crave information. As a result, the law needs to get busy and create relevant rules to govern Twitter, Facebook and other relevant communications about court proceedings.



On the social media end, the Clark Country Court's Blog, http://lvcourtsblog.com., works closely with its Twitter account, @lvcourts. However, as noted above, you can follow the Courts and comment on Facebook, too.

Online access to court records is arguably the biggest stride forward the Clark County Court has made. Blackstone (the courts prior online record system) was pretty good for the era. However, now the court has adopted a new system that allows for better searches and easier access to information. The change was tough for the legal community this year, but in the long run it will likely be a step forward. Now if they can stop some of the clerks from changing the minutes, post-hearing. The ability to file online (e-file) was a great move ahead. Forcing attorneys to file everything online this February will be a breath of fresh air. Gone will be the days of "I served that on his office yesterday, your Honor" or "this was mailed a month ago, I don't know what he's talking about" or "I've never seen that document, your Honor." We will all get notice via the online filing system. Most importantly, there is no more fighting over the only public copy machine just off the Records counter. Ahhh, the little things.

I just wanna know one thing . . . how do we "elect" those folks, that were smart enough to make these changes, to a permanent judicial position. 'Common-Sense-Cutting-Edge-Legal-Thought' is not what I'd call "in abundance" down at the Courthouse. It is a good thing that technology does not have to wait on the law or we'd never get anywhere in our profession.

A very big thanks to ALL those that have worked on getting this online docket, e-filing, Court websites and the overall social media presense pushed through. It sure makes my job a lot easier and improves the public's access to the information. That is the real improvement here. Now, on to whether or not we should elect or appoint judges.
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