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Courts online Meeting user needs. Sue Scott Director, Online Legal Access Project. Law Foundation of NSW. “ The courts, while containing judicial power, must also diffuse information … the courts' position rests upon their capacity to communicate. ” Richard Mohr. Law Foundation of NSW. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Courts onlineCourts online
Meeting user needsMeeting user needs
Sue Scott
Director, Online Legal Access Project
Law Foundation of NSW
“The courts, while containing judicial power, must also diffuse information … the courts' position rests upon their capacity to communicate. ”
Richard Mohr
Law Foundation of NSW
Law Foundation of NSW
Assistance with documentation
Information about courts and court processes
Assistance with the law
Emotional support
Accessible information
What do court users need?
Law Foundation of NSW
How to make and respond to a claim
Sample letters
Forms
E-filing
Fees information
Assistance with documentation
Law Foundation of NSW
How to contact and find the courtOpening hoursDisability accessCourt ettiqueteCourt lists Information for jurors and witnesses Stages of the litigation processRules of evidenceFormulation of legal argumentWhat it means to cross examine
Assistance with attending court
Law Foundation of NSW
Plain English guides
Legislation and case law
Pathways
Legal terminology
Information about changes to the law
Assistance with substantive law
Law Foundation of NSW
Emotional support
Provide details about court support programs
Court location, opening hours, disability access
Information about how the court works
Visual guides to the court
Law Foundation of NSW
Plain English informationMaterials in other languagesMaterials in alternative formatsReduce legal jargon
Accessible information
How do people find information?
Law Foundation of NSW
When people have an information need, their first preference is to ask
another person
Law Foundation of NSW
Information alone is often not sufficient
Law Foundation of NSW
Implications for delivery via the Internet
• Provide in person assistance in addition to
• Explore the potential of email
• Internet delivery of information may change the type of inquiries received rather than reduce the need for people
Law Foundation of NSW
Written information adds value,especially when used in conjunction
with in person assistance
Law Foundation of NSW
Law Foundation of NSW
• People collect information for many reasons, including getting self-control, social support, and clarifying causes (Dervin 1993).
• The kinds of questions asked by victims of domestic violence support this finding:
What should I do?
Why does he do this to me?
Can I manage if I leave?
What are my legal rights?
What can I expect from a battered women’s shelter? (Harris 1988)
Law Foundation of NSW
Implications for Internet Delivery
1. It is useful and worthwhile to provide legal information resources via the Internet, but this information will be of most use when delivered in conjunction with other forms of assistance
2. Find out where your users go for assistance and provide the information to them
Law Foundation of NSW
Genn
Where people go in the UK when they have a legal problem
Where people go for assistance -
SolicitorsCommunity legal centresLegalAidCommunity centresChamber magistratesPoliceMigrant resource centresTenancy groupsDoctorsFriends and family
Law Foundation of NSW
Convenience and ease of access are key determinants in
whether people use a particular information source
Law Foundation of NSW
Law Foundation of NSW
Providing resources via the Internet has the potential to greatly increase use by increasing accessibility.
But ……..
• Sites must be accessible - quick to load, easy to find, easy to navigate and comply with accessibility guidelines
• There needs to be easy access to a reliable, fast Internet connection
Internet Access is increasing
Law Foundation of NSW
Law Foundation of NSW
• In the 12 months to May 2000, 6.4 million adults, 46% of Australia's total adult population accessed the Internet.
• Between February 1998 and May 2000 the figures have increased from 23% to 46% of Australia's population
• Households with incomes of $50,000 or more were three times as likely to have Internet access at home, compared to those households with incomes of less than $50,000
(Australian Bureau of Statistics 2000).
Law Foundation of NSW
Implications
• Ensure that there is well publicised Internet access available in the community, in locations such as public libraries, court houses and community centres
• Take the demographics of your target group into account when planning whether to deliver information and services via the Internet
• Deliver services in a variety of ways
Law Foundation of NSW
Providing information via the Internet
doesn’t mean people will find it
Person is looking for the Wallis Lake Oyster case that was before Federal Court.
Netsearch comes up as first screenChooses the search engine which comes up - ExciteOysters and Australia862“too many” [Doesn’t look at results]oysters and Australia AND federal court182 hits“very unsatisfactory”Wallis lake AND oysters“looking a lot better”Finds a SMH article but still looking for the Federal Court
connection
Law Foundation of NSW
“I’ll look for the home page of the Federal Court and see if I can find the case that way”
Federal Court AND Australia7,799,370“that’s a lot”Goes to the Federal Government web site which comes up on
this page and does a keyword search“not having much luck here - scrolls down the page - not here”Tries the subject entry point - Departments and Agencies“I’ll go to Attorney General’s Department - don’t know if the
Federal Court is part of it”When he goes there it brings up the Department of Admin
ServicesTries again and it does the same thingGives up
• The average [US] college educated person cannot form a correct Boolean expression for even a simple case
• There are typically 30 different words that users will think of to describe an information object they know well, but it will usually be indexed by less than five.
• Casual searchers often know little about a topic and its vocabulary (Landauer 1993).
• 85% of users use search engines to locate information (GVU's 10th WWW User Survey).
• The largest search engine only covers 38.3% of the web (Lawrence & Giles)
Law Foundation of NSW
Implications
1. Promote sites to relevant users
2. Use hypertext links to provide pathways from plain English to more sophisticated resources
3. Create gateways to quality legal resources
Law Foundation of NSW
Information is a step along the way, not a product.
Information is only of value if it is found, used and understood.
Law Foundation of NSW
References
Australian Law Reform Commission, 2000 Managing Justice: the way ahead for civil disputes, ALRC Report 89
American Bar Association, Albert H. Cantril, Agenda for access: the American People and Civil Justice. Final Report on the Implications of the Comprehensive Legal Needs Study. http://www.abanet.org/legalservices/Access.html
Clark, Eugene Enhancing Access to Justice: Some Lessons for Lawyers http://uniserve.edu.au/law/pub/journals/uclawreview/July1995/Clark2_ToC.htm
Genn, Hazel with National Centre for Social Research, 1999, Paths to justice: what people do and think about going to law, Oxford, Hart
Law Foundation of NSW
References
Dewar, John, Smith Barry, Banks, Cate 2000, Litigants in person in the Family Court of Australia, Research report No. 20, Family Court of Australia
Gamble, Helen, and Richard Mohr. 1998. Litigants in Person in the Federal Court of Australia and the Administrative Appeals Tribunal: A Research Note. Paper read at Sixteenth AIJA Annual Conference, 4 - 6 September 1998, at Melbourne. http://www.uow.edu.au/law/law_web_main/litigants.html
Parker, Stephen, 1998, Courts and the public, AIJA, Melbourne
Scott, S. 1999 Research review into legal information seeking behaviour and use: implications for provision via the Internet, Law Foundation of NSW, Sydney http://lawfoundation.net.au/olap/user/legal_info.html
Law Foundation of NSW