Courts made excellent use of Zoom meetings to conduct virtual court hearings while the buildings were closed due to Covid-19. I’m sharing tips for Zoom for court appearances which I saw on the website of Florida’s First Judicial Circuit, because many hearings are still being conducted virtually using this technology.
Zoom Tips for Court Appearance
Following these tips will make it easier for other participants to concentrate on what you are saying, and not be distracted by light, clothes, background etc.
- Dress in a soft solid color (like a black robe for judges). If a tie is worn, use a solid colored tie rather than one with a pattern.
- When speaking, remember to look directly at the webcam, not at the screen.
- Position the camera at your eye level or slightly above eye level.
- Be mindful of what is behind you, choose a solid neutral wall if possible
- Check the lighting. Light from a window behind you might blind the camera, making you look dark. Light above you in the center of a room might also cast shadows. Ideally, position a lamp, or sit facing a window, where light is directly on your face. Also, be aware that your monitor casts light that can make you look blue.
- Participants should speak one at a time and pause prior to speaking in case there is any audio/video lag.
- Participants should mute themselves when not speaking in order to avoid any potential background noise.
Children & Zoom Virtual Hearings
The above tips from the First Judicial Circuit do not specifically give you pointers on children being present. Children should not be present at Zoom virtual court hearings. Particularly in Florida divorce and paternity cases, the presence of a child during a hearing—whether virtual or in person—is not generally allowed. Judges do not allow children in family proceedings unless the judge has previously approved it for a particularly purpose.
Besides this prohibition, the presence of children during a virtual hearing will be distracting to participants. You should make arrangements for someone to take care of the children while you attend the hearing.
Testing Your Zoom Connection and Setup
I didn’t even know that you could do this, but yes…you can. You can test your connection and setup by testing your connection with a ZOOM test meeting at https://zoom.us/test. It’s easy to do this test since all you need to do, after clicking on the link, is follow the instructions on your screen. You will not be participating in any meeting; it’s simply a testing setup.
For my clients who have never used Zoom, I run a practice session on Zoom. This lets them become acquainted with using the technology before we actually have to appear at a virtual hearing.
What Device to Use for Your Hearing
I know most people cannot live without their smartphone. The thing is that for virtual court hearings they may not be very good because they are too small.
During your virtual court hearing, you may be shown documents and asked questions about them. Using a smartphone, with a small screen, it may be difficult for you to actually see the document. Even if you can zoom in and out on your screen, you may accidentally touch something else that may cause you to drop the connection to the virtual hearing. Moreover, mobile connections are inherently more unstable than broadband connection. (You don’t want to be that guy asking “Can you hear me now?” or “Can you see me now?”).
I think that laptops are a better choice, or maybe even tablets. I would say desktops as well, but I find that few people have them nowadays.
Parties save money and time using Zoom. If you have to appear at a hearing in a case, you do not have to take off the entire day from work, nor travel to a court building to wait for the case to be called before the judge. If you have an attorney, you save on attorney’s fees because the attorney is not also spending time sitting next to you in court waiting for the case to be called, which you also would pay for.
