If you wanted to know what judges, juries, prosecutors, and opposing counsel were doing, you had to travel to the county courthouses or the Supreme Court in St. Paul to read the hard copies of court filings in the dimly-lit offices of the court clerks during business hours.
That has changed in the past seven years, as Chief Justice Lorie Skjerven Gildea has:
- led all judges, lawyers, and court staffers to learn to use computers;
- given all citizens access to virtually all court filings and rulings on the internet;
- made it possible to pay most traffic tickets and civil citations by computer or telephone;
- provided regular citizens with tools to resolve simple court disputes without a lawyer;
- increased transparency by televising all Supreme Court hearings;
- allowed trial judges latitude to allow cameras in their court rooms; and
- increased computer accessibility in court houses.
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