Everything You Need to Know About a Zoom Court Hearing
Zoom court hearings or remote hearings are an innovative and potentially time-saving way to conduct hearings, especially for pro se litigants. Remote hearings can preserve the efficiency of proceedings, the economy of time, and the convenience in scheduling effectively. Moreover, in certain circumstances remote hearings can otherwise bring parties into compliance with the Supreme Court Rules. The Supreme Court of Virginia’s Rules 1A:3, 1A:7 , and 1A:8 provide a framework for remote hearings, as to its Crime Commission Advisory Committee’s Report on Remote Hearings and Remote Presence for reference to using "telephonic, audio, or audio visual technology such as video conferencing" … "individuals who are physically separate from one another . . . ." If you have an upcoming hearing and you think a remote hearing is appropriate, then you should raise the issue with the Court and opposing counsel.
Who Can Get a Zoom Court Hearing?
Generally, if one of the parties is located outside of Florida, or the litigation involves a very significant amount of property outside of the state, local courts may allow the matter to be conducted through video teleconferencing. In some cases, litigants may be able to file a motion with the court requesting permission to attend hearings and/or depositions by videoconference, rather than by personally appearing in Florida.
If granted, a videoconference may allow an out-of-state litigant (or her attorney) to appear at a hearing or deposition from a remotely located court facility. Otherwise, the litigant would be compelled to travel to Florida.
By way of example, in certain counties, there are "boilerplate" policies stating that when any party or attorney is physically located outside of Florida, that that person will be allowed to conduct litigation in Florida by video teleconference. Those jurisdictions automatically provide for hearings and depositions to occur remotely.
In other jurisdictions, local rules may permit such relief, but only upon the request of the party and with the showing of good cause. In this regard, statutes, court rules, and the prevailing policies of particular courts can work to either benefit or hinder a litigant’s ability to join a hearing or deposition via videoconference.
How to Make Your Request for a Zoom County Court Hearing
To make a request for a Zoom court hearing, you generally need to fill out a motion form and serve that on the judge. The procedure to make that request will vary from court to court. The steps for making a request for a Zoom Court Webinar hearing are as follows:
1. Finding the appropriate motion form
There are two main ways that you can find the correct motion form for your jurisdiction:
• Search the court’s website for a downloadable version of the correct motion form
• Go to your local courthouse and request a copy of the correct motion form
If you have doubts about whether you have obtained the correct motion form, always confer with a clerk at your local courthouse to ensure that you have completed the correct form.
2. Filling out your motion form
Once you’ve found the relevant motion form, you need to fill it out. It is vital that you carefully read through your motion form because most courts have strict rules about how you must fill them out. Many forms, for example, have space that you must fill out. If you don’t fill them out, a clerk will likely reject your motion.
Forms tend to require a date by which you want to have the hearing. Many forms also ask for the specific time you want to have the hearing. Be careful when you are filling out the time of the hearing because it may go to clerks, not judges. Even though the courtroom staff is there to hear you, most courts won’t know about your request, so it is important that you follow the formalities of talking to court staff.
For example, if you are filing a motion stating that you want to have a hearing, the court staff will be able to put that on the calendar. However, if you want to have a cross-examination, the court staff will not know about that, so you may have to ask for that directly.
The motion form will often ask you to provide a telephone number to which the judge can reach you. Also, many forms ask for your address. This is because the judge is going to have to sign that and then they are going to have to call the local sheriff’s office to have the order recorded and put in the mail.
The court staff will usually ask you to provide enclosed, self-addressed, stamped envelopes. Once you have your motion, you need to make copies. You have to file the original with the clerk of the court and then you have to give one copy to each lawyer, or someone representing them.
3. Filing your motion
Once you’ve filled out your motion form and made copies of your requested hearing, you need to file the motion. To do this, you need to check the file number, or cause number, and then write that on the document. After you’ve written your cause number on the document, you need to bring the document down to the clerk of the court. Often, you’ll just walk up to the counter and file it. Alternatively, you may need to scan the document into your computer and then email it. Finally, there is now a virus exception, and you need to check with the clerk of the court to see if you can email the motion as opposed to mailing it if you presently live somewhere else.
After you have filed your motion, the court is going to look at it. Sometimes the courts, when they see a request for a Zoom hearing, will call you in for a hearing on your requested hearing. For example, if you want a hearing on a stay, they may call you in for a stay motion. That’s somewhat a little bit different than a Zoom hearing, but it’s required.
In addition to court calls, you also receive written notices of the date of your hearing and the time, location, and judge handling the matter. If the court adopts that entire timeline, you have your own Zoom hearing.
In some courts, such as small claims courts, there is no request for a hearing form. In those cases, you simply proceed with trial as normal. Some courts will simply appoint somebody to try the case on your behalf. All jurisdictions run slightly differently.
Necessary Paperwork
The initial step in requesting a Zoom court hearing is to submit a request to the court where your case is pending. The specific approach and paperwork required for this request can differ by court. However, in most courts you must prepare an application for a Zoom hearing along with a proposed order for the court to sign. A proposed order is an order that you prepare that the judge can simply sign so that a hearing may be scheduled. Additionally, you may need to include a Notice of Hearing.
Essentially, you are providing the court with all of the paperwork to make a decision, follow the necessary procedures, and issue an order to schedule the hearing. You should check with the particular court or consult with an attorney to ensure that you have everything that you need.
If you don’t have the time or inclination to order the documents, reading through a lot of text, filling out forms, and preparing your specific language and circumstances, we have templates below with the blanks already filled in for you (other than your names and contact information, of course).
Tech Needs for Your Zoom Hearing
A Zoom court hearing has technical requirements. You want to have all of the necessary equipment and software ready to go in advance of the hearing. For starters you’ll need a video camera and microphone. Most laptops will have those built-in to the machine. An iPad or iPhone also has a camera and microphone built-in to the device, as does most Android phones and tablets.
Once most people figure out that the camera and microphone are no longer the missing link, they usually end up turning to a software or connectivity issue. If you’re going to be calling in via phone, rather than using a camera and microphone, then you only need a good phone connection — the same requirements one has for any phone call.
In most cases, however, a Zoom hearing will involve you using a camera and microphone. Most people can connect to Zoom on their laptop, phone, or tablet without any issues. If you do have a technical problem that you’re unable to work out in advance, you can still show up at the time of the hearing — just as you would in a typical courtroom setting — and they may still let you testify by phone or make other arrangements since attorneys do not have control over any technical issues that might arise on the other side.
If you’re using a laptop, phone, or tablet you should have the most up to date version of Zoom. That will make your connection much easier. Generally speaking , people do not have problems using the free version of Zoom. There are two types of accounts on Zoom. The first type is a personal user account and anyone can sign up for it at no cost on the Zoom website. It doesn’t matter if you have the free account or a paid account. People with free accounts can host up to 100 people for 40 minutes at a time. If you exceed 40 minutes, the call will automatically end. You can start up a new call right away, however, and keep going. The other type of account available through Zoom is a business account. Unless you are a business that has purchased a business account for yourself or your employees, you probably have the free account. People with business accounts can host an unlimited number of people for an unlimited number of hours. If you have a business account and cannot join a meeting it is likely because the person you are trying to talk to does not have a business account and is therefore limited to the free account settings (40 minutes and 100 users).
If you will be testifying, we recommend that you get yourself a headset with a microphone (these typically run between $25 to $50). It will improve the quality of the audio for everyone else and will also help keep the echo noise down and will improve the sound quality overall. We’ve found that the Plantronics Voyager Legend Bluetooth headset works well. However, any good Bluetooth or wired headset with a microphone that is compatible with your phone or tablet should work well. If you are using a computer, we recommend Bluetooth headsets that have a USB charger (rather than a plug to connect to the computer) since it’s much easier to connect to your computer, especially when using a laptop.
Preparing for the Zoom County Court Hearing
Most importantly, you want to be as prepared in your virtual Court hearing as you would be in a live setting in a real Court. That includes file review, legal research, and preparation of the draft motion and supporting documents. Go through your motion and supporting documents to make sure that they are complete and ready, just as you would do for a live hearing.
Then set the setting. You can use your home office, or if you do not have one, consider using your kitchen table, though ultimately it does not matter much, as long as you are not working from your bed or in front of a messy backdrop. It is better if you can, however, find a blank wall, or a solid color in the back of your video shot. A cluttered background looks unprofessional. Also, make the court staff’s job easier and silence or turn off any personal alert tones (for text messages, email messages, etc.) in order not to disrupt the hearing. This way, you will not have to respond to family members or friends who will otherwise be annoyed that you responded to them during the hearing.
You should dress professionally, as you would if you were going to Court. The expectation will still be that briefs submitted before the hearing will have been read by the judge, so if there is anything you have to get across to the judge during the hearing, your preparation will have determined that.
What Happens at the Zoom Hearing
You’ll receive information from the court regarding a link or phone number to call in. You should do so only at the time the hearing is scheduled. I recommend that you "mute" yourself unless you are speaking so that there is no background noise or interference with others who are speaking. If applicable, I ask that both parties mute their respective microphones/telephones so that the speakers can be heard more clearly.
It is helpful to have a copy of the filing you are discussing in front of you. You may be required to read from a motion or other document. However, generally speaking you will be providing a summary of your position, and any support for your position, as well as addressing any other issues I may have. I will also give a brief summary of any objections filed by the other party.
Except for those hearings that are limited to specific forms, the hearing will be an opportunity to make an oral argument, including providing a summary of your position, and the position of the other party. As is customary in the courtroom, be respectful of those people who are speaking and avoid interrupting. Also as is customary, be respectful of the court in general by treating the judge with the same respect you would if they were present in the courtroom.
With experience on multiple hearings, you will be able to anticipate more questions and issues that you would need to provide information regarding. In such cases, it may be best to have the relevant documents in front of you. It could be important to talk with your lawyer the night before if you anticipate a long conference or significant issues.
Technical issues can and do occur outside of the control of the court. Classically this would include lack of Wi-Fi connectivity and people who are not able to hear one another. The courts are currently working on addressing Phone call connectivity.
Common Issues
While establishing your Zoom account and setting up a meeting is usually very straightforward, you may encounter challenges once your meeting is underway. Among the most common are poor internet connectivity, disruptions in the court room, and not fully understanding legal procedure in a Zoom hearing.
If you experience connection problems, the first thing to do is make sure your internet connection is strong enough to stream video and audio. If possible, connect to your internet using an ethernet cable. If you don’t have an ethernet connection, find a spot near your router and try to get a Wi-Fi signal with a high Mbps. You can download any internet speed testing app or website. Check to see if your connection is 10 Mbps or higher. If it is not, try moving closer to your router. If you still can’t connect, reset your router or canvas the area for another spot with a strong connection. Additionally, you can contact your ISP for help.
Zoom meetings can be disrupted by unexpected sounds coming from participants’ background. Some of these distractions are especially pronounced in a court room, such as sirens, children, or barking dogs. This is where audio visual controls in Zoom can be extremely helpful. First, make sure you are muted when you are not speaking in the hearing. Zoom has a "Mute" button in the software, and the host can also mute participants as necessary. You also have the option of turning off your video until you are ready to speak. As long as you join the hearing at the scheduled time, the host can call on you to speak. You may also choose to turn off your video if you do not want participants to see you .
The most complicated aspect of a Zoom hearing is understanding legal procedure over the platform. For example, how do I submit evidence? Most hearings will not require you to submit exhibits through Zoom, but there may be exceptions for the witness testimony and trial. First, understand the evidentiary requirements of your case. Generally, the strongest evidence in family law or probate cases is documentary evidence as it is more objective than witness testimony. Next, check with your judge’s chambers to see if they will allow electronic copies of your written testimony. If presented properly, electronic copies of documentary evidence are generally acceptable.
Once you have your Exhibit List together, use the Zoom annotation tools to show your judge and opposing counsel the first document on your list. You can say, "I would like to move into evidence Exhibit 1 – 2020 Certificate of Live Birth." To focus everybody’s attention on the document you are showing them, scroll to the top of the screen and look for the Annotation icon. Click this icon and then choose "Spotlight Mouse Pointer". This will create a black outline around your mouse cursor, making it more easily viewed by the court.
Annotation icons can be found under the "More…" icon on the control toolbar at the top of the Zoom window. There are many helpful tools here. You can highlight, draw, type text, erase, and much more. All in all, these tools will make presenting evidence easier.
Zoom is a powerful tool for conducting a hearing. Although it may feel overwhelming at first, there is nothing you cannot overcome. Try starting a test meeting with a friend, or you may be able to schedule a test meeting directly through Zoom.