In the near future, UK courts will be using digital technology for all aspects of criminal cases. Due to new funding being used toward this technological development of the court system, all criminal courts are expected to be operating digitally by July 2016. This digital development will enable the use of technology to stream line the court process by using Wi-Fi connections to send evidence to a central secure location that can be accessed by both the legal team and the magistrate. Police officers will be able to begin collecting evidence and interviewing witnesses at the scene without having to return to the station, and pre-trial hearings will be held with the defendant appearing from prison through video link rather than in person.
See, Digital Courtroom Unveiled as Justice Enters the Wi-Fi Era, GOV.UK, April 11, 2014.
Special thanks to Brian Cohan (Attorney at Law, Law Offices of Brian J. Cohan, P.C.) for bringing this article to my attention.
