Cell phones and other personal electronic devices will be allowed in court facilities starting Thursday.
The new policy is an extension of a pilot program started in February 2022, allowing personal electronic devices in a handful of court facilities.
Family Court Chief Judge Michael Newell says the program did not cause any significant safety or operational concerns - so they are extending it
Visitors are still not allowed to take photos or record audio or video - with some exceptions, such as photographing or scanning public court documents in clerks’ offices, so long as the device does not damage or mark the document in any way or interrupt the operations of the clerks’ office.
Newell says that increases access to justice.
“They’ll be allowed now, rather than having to get a photocopy or pay for a photocopy or whatever the charges might be, they can now, as long as it's not disruptive to the file, take their phone and take a picture of it and they’ll have their order," Newell says. "I really do believe it’s an improvement to what I’ve been saying all along, access to justice.”
Newell says they were initially banned due to concerns centered around witness and juror intimidation.
“We had prohibitions on people being able to bring their cell phones in but we also had a number of exceptions," he says. "Those exceptions were attorneys, stakeholders, people who work in the court, so virtually everybody except for the people who need to access our court.”
Newell says the new policy addresses those concerns, however — visitors are still required to turn off or silence their devices when in the courtroom, and at any time, if a judicial officer feels there is a safety threat, they may require individuals to place their devices in a secure, locked pouch until they leave.
