Case Management

The Advisory Committee on Civil Rules met virtually on April 1 and covered a number of different updates and discussion topics, including proposed amendments to Rule 30(b)(6). And, instead of the usual legislative update, Judge Bates provided an update on recent pandemic-related events related to the Committee. 

Courts across the country continue to exhibit incredible flexibility in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now that shelter-in-place and stay-at-home orders have been enacted in many parts of the country, judges and lawyers alike are looking for ways to keep court cases and processes moving. 

Administering justice in the time of COVID-19 has taken on a whole new direction in a rural municipal court in Laramie, Wyoming. After the governor declared a state of emergency, we developed a plan to temporarily delay any in-court personal appearances and began utilizing videoconferencing to facilitate necessary court functions.

The ABA has created a task force to identify legal needs arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and to make recommendations to address them. Meanwhile, state and federal courts continue to rapidly respond to the impacts of the virus. 

​As the number of cases of COVID-19 in the United States rises, both state and federal courts are preparing for how they will (or won’t) continue operating should more people quarantine and many other functions of public life temporarily shut down.

People look to our legal system for help in matters that affect their rights, their families, their businesses, and the most intimate aspects of their lives. But, for too long and for too many, the courthouse doors seem closed—and justice out of reach. IAALS is changing that. We are proud to present you with our 2019 Annual Report, which highlights our work and accomplishments toward ensuring that everyone has access to justice we can believe in.

To address the challenges posed by the rising number of debt collection cases in our state courts—including high rates of self-represented litigants and default judgments—IAALS and the National Center for State Courts have released a new white paper that presents a model approach to reform in these cases.

More and more courts are working to address backlogged cases and court users' dissatisfaction. In just the last few months, several Midwestern courts have taken steps to introduce more technology into their courts, removing barriers that many litigants face, especially those who represent themselves.

Last month, Australia’s Attorney-General announced he would continue with a plan to merge the specialist Family Court of Australia with the lower-level Federal Circuit Court, with the aim to improve efficiency, but not everyone is convinced.

In late September, the Indiana Supreme Court announced the creation of the Indiana Innovation Initiative. One of the initiative’s two subgroups, the Family Law Taskforce, will consider the Family Justice Initiative Principles supported by IAALS in order to improve the way Indiana’s courts handle domestic relations cases.