courts online meeting user needs

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



Assistance with documentation

Information about courts and court processes

Assistance with the law

Emotional support

Accessible information

What do court users need?


How to make and respond to a claim

Sample letters

Forms

E-filing

Fees information

Assistance with documentation


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


Plain English guides

Legislation and case law

Pathways

Legal terminology

Information about changes to the law

Assistance with substantive law


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


Plain English informationMaterials in other languagesMaterials in alternative formatsReduce legal jargon

Accessible information

How do people find information?


When people have an information need, their first preference is to ask

another person


Information alone is often not sufficient


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


Written information adds value,especially when used in conjunction

with in person assistance



• 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)


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


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


Convenience and ease of access are key determinants in

whether people use a particular information source



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



• 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).


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


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


“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)


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


Information is a step along the way, not a product.

Information is only of value if it is found, used and understood.


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


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


http://www.uow.edu.au/law/law_web_main/litigants.html





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