JET-WG National Webinar March 17, 2005 Hosted by the Federal Judicial Center

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JET-WGNational Webinar March 17, 2005 Hosted
by theFederal Judicial Center

• The Administrative Office/Department of Justice
• Joint Working Group on Electronic Technology in
  the Criminal Justice System

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Panelists

• Tony Gallagher, JET-WG Chair and Federal
  Defender, District of Montana
• Hon. John Hughes, District of New Jersey
• Barbara Sale, Chief, Criminal Division, U.S.
  Attorneys Office, District of Maryland
• Curt Bohling, Assistant U.S. Attorney, Western
  District of Missouri
• Ken Withers, Senior Education Attorney, Federal
  Judicial Center

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Agenda

• Overview of JET-WG Report and Recommendations
• Open Mike View from the trenches
• Establishment of local working groups
• Supporting materials on the FJC web site
• Open mike Where do we go from here?

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The Working Groups Report

• Underlying premises of the report
• Virtually all legal, business and technical data
  resides on computers
• Computers have become so commonplace that most
  criminal cases today involve some computer-stored
  information
• All practitioners and all judges must
  understand how to deal with digital information

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The Working Group

• Genesis of the Working Group
• AO Directors January 1998 Report on Costs and
  Recommendations for the Control of Costs of the
  Defender Services Program
• Proposes initiatives to reduce or control costs
  of litigation
• Requires coordination and cooperation between
  AOUSC and the Department of Justice

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The Administrative Office/ Department of
Justice Joint Working Group on Electronic
Technology in the Criminal Justice System is the
direct outgrowth of that 1998 AO report.
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The Working Group

• Early efforts
• Initial meeting in June 1999
• Tripartisan" working group

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The Working Group

• Mission Statement
• To advance the fair administration of justice in
  the exchange and use of electronic data in a
  cooperative and cost-effective manner for all
  parties when required by the rules, when
  consistent with local custom and practice
  (compatible with privilege), or mandated by court
  order.

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Highlights of the Working Groups recommendations

• General recommendations
• Continue a working group
• Bring investigative agencies into the planning
  process
• Form local working groups
• Promote local and national training for all
  participants in the system

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Highlights of the Working Groups recommendations

• General recommendations
• Avoid blanket rules
• Digitize information in a format readable by all
  parties

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Highlights of the Working Groups recommendations

• Discovery Stage
• Parties should evaluate whether digitization is
  appropriate as early as possible
• Discoverable electronic data should not be
  degraded
• Discoverable data should be produced to the
  opposition, subject to ethical rules, cost
  sharing arrangements, and work-product principles

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Highlights of the Working Groups recommendations

• Pre-trial Stage
• Hold "meet and confer" sessions similar to those
  used in civil practice
• Give notice to the Court as soon as possible of
  the proposed use of electronic evidence

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Highlights of the Working Groups recommendations

• Pre-trial Stage
• Hold timely pretrial conferences to resolve
  issues related to electronic discovery and
  presentation
• Make automation specialist(s), if any, available
  to answer any questions from the Court

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Highlights of the Working Groups recommendations

• Trial Stage
• Courtrooms should be appropriately equipped so
  parties and the Court have access to digital
  resources and can use them in presentations
• Courtrooms should be able to accommodate hardware
  supplied by the parties
• methods to preserve electronic evidence and
  presentations for appellate review should be
  developed

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Cooperation/common interests

• Trial Lawyers
• Must develop familiarity with
• Computer hardware
• Programming techniques
• Principles governing the structure of stored data
• Operation of data processing systems

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Cooperation/common interests

• Judges
• Must become familiar with computer technology's
  impact on the court culture
• Also must
• Maximize the use of electronic data
• Develop ways of dealing with technology and
  electronic data

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Cooperation/common interests

• Ultimate goal
• The creation of fair, efficient, and cost-
  effective ways of integrating technology into the
  Criminal Justice process, while ensuring the
  successful operation of the constitutionally-based
  adversary system of justice by which both
  federal criminal laws and federally guaranteed
  rights are enforced.

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The report of the Joint Working Group is a first
step in reaching that goal.
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Questions and Comments

• Does the Report address real issues in your
  district?
• Are there any important technology issues not
  addressed in the Report?
• How does district culture affect these issues?

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Questions and Comments

• Are district working groups being established?
• How do they get started?
• Who is on these groups?
• What are they doing?

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Questions and Comments

• What is the continuing role for the National
  Working Group?

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Draft Protocols and Checklists

• Protocol for District Working Groups
• Checklist and Questionnaire for Case Evaluation
• Protocol for Meet and Confer
• Training Checklist

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Where do we go from here?
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JET-WGNational Webinar March 17, 2005 Ken
Withers kwithers_at_fjc.govor 202-502-4065

• The Administrative Office/Department of Justice
• Joint Working Group on Electronic Technology in
  the Criminal Justice System