Technology Solutions Can Help Modernize U.S. Civil Courts

Research and analysis on the increasing use of digital tools in the civil legal system

Updated:   May 27, 2022 Read time:
Projects: Courts & Communities
Civil Court Technology Solutions
Getty Images
Getty Images

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a significant economic downturn in the U.S. as businesses closed and communities sheltered in place under state and local stay-at-home orders, causing millions of Americans to lose jobs and giving rise to myriad legal issues related to unemployment, access to public benefits, and housing. At the same time, courthouses were forced to shut their doors and began issuing emergency orders to triage the surge in urgent cases and inform the public about the status of their operations.

Although courts had already begun modernizing and digitizing many of their processes over the past decade using tools such as electronic filing and online dispute resolution, the pandemic accelerated these efforts. Virtual courtrooms have sprung up across the country, and states that offer online legal information portals have seen a spike in traffic to those websites. As growing numbers of people turn to the courts to address challenges related to eviction, debt collection, and other issues amplified by the pandemic, the civil legal system will need to continue its rapid response to ensure that members of the public have access to effective and efficient online tools to solve their legal problems.

The analyses collected here look at what courts around the country have done to move their operations online and how they can build on those efforts to improve the civil legal system for all users.

OUR WORK
America’s Overdose Crisis
America’s Overdose Crisis

America’s Overdose Crisis

Sign up for our five-email course explaining the overdose crisis in America, the state of treatment access, and ways to improve care

Sign up
Quick View
America’s Overdose Crisis

America’s Overdose Crisis

Sign up for our five-email course explaining the overdose crisis in America, the state of treatment access, and ways to improve care

Sign up
Image depicting a virtual screen with a judge in the top box, a man in a suit labeled Plaintiff in the bottom left box, and a black box on the bottom right with a telephone icon, labeled Defendant.
Image depicting a virtual screen with a judge in the top box, a man in a suit labeled Plaintiff in the bottom left box, and a black box on the bottom right with a telephone icon, labeled Defendant.
Report December 1, 2021

Courts Embraced Technology and Adapted Their Operations

Quick View
Image depicting a virtual screen with a judge in the top box, a man in a suit labeled Plaintiff in the bottom left box, and a black box on the bottom right with a telephone icon, labeled Defendant.
Report December 1, 2021

The outbreak of COVID-19 in early 2020 forced public services to shift to online operations in a matter of weeks. For the nation’s courts, that meant reimagining how to administer justice. Media coverage has focused mainly on the effects of the digital transformation in criminal courts, but a rapid deployment of new technology also took place in the civil legal system.

Wooden gavel on silver laptop computer
Wooden gavel on silver laptop computer
Article December 1, 2021

Technology Revolution in State Civil Courts

Quick View
Wooden gavel on silver laptop computer
Article December 1, 2021

With courthouses shuttered by COVID-19, civil legal systems in nearly every state moved quickly to adopt new tools to support online operation—a decisive response that enabled millions of Americans to access the courts and resolve legal issues despite the pandemic. But like any transformative change, this effort was not without its challenges.

MEDIA CONTACT
Maria Borden Manager, Communications 202.540.6429
RELATED
Topics
U.S. State Policy
Projects
Courts & Communities
Places
United States

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

A presentation being given by a businesswoman to a group of participants at a business conference.

Fact Sheet

April 12, 2024 Four Plan Features Can Boost 'Retirement Readiness'
An illustration of a couple holding hands walking away from an outline of houses behind them

Podcast

March 22, 2024 Pathways to Homeownership: Housing in America
A landscape with mountains and clouds. BLM Rule Puts Conservation, Other Land Uses on Equal Footing

MORE FROM PEW

An aerial view of a vast wetland, with scattered vegetation visible on sandy islands. In Western Australia, a Conservation Model for the World
A large group of people in formal or traditional attire stands together on a stage, with a digital background depicting marine life and the large text “WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies.” WTO Needs to Redouble Its Effort on Fishing Subsidies
A man in a winter hat and sunglasses kneels on a rocky shoreline in front of a campfire, holding a metal mug with gloved hands. Behind him, in the water, a motorboat is moored to the shore. Cliffs rise on both sides of the water. Why Newfoundland’s South Coast Fjords Are Sacred
An illustration of a couple holding hands walking away from an outline of houses behind them Pathways to Homeownership: Housing in America
Composite image of modern city network communication concept

Learn the Basics of Broadband from Our Limited Series

Sign up for our four-week email course on Broadband Basics
Quick View

How does broadband internet reach our homes, phones, and tablets? What kind of infrastructure connects us all together? What are the major barriers to broadband access for American communities?

What Is Antibiotic Resistance—and How Can We Fight It?

Sign up for our four-week email series The Race Against Resistance.
Quick View

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria, also known as “superbugs,” are a major threat to modern medicine. But how does resistance work, and what can we do to slow the spread? Read personal stories, expert accounts, and more for the answers to those questions in our four-week email series: Slowing Superbugs.