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                  - Home
                  - Grants                      - Project Grants
                    - Technical Assistance Grants
                    - Curriculum Adaptation & Training Grant
                    - Strategic Initiatives Grants
                    - Education Support Program
                    - Funding Toolkit 
                  - News
                  - Grantee Spotlights
                  - Priority Investment Areas                      - Court Pandemic Response and Recovery Grant Program 
                  - Grant Management
                  - About SJI                      - Board of Directors
                    - Executive Director
                    - Past Members
                    - SJI Budget 

### Supporting the Nation's Judicial System & the Public it Serves

November 1, 2023

## Evaluating the Impact of Virtual Proceedings in Family Law Matters for Self-Represented Litigants

The Access to Justice Lab at Harvard Law School and LaGratta Consulting LLC are conducting a randomized control trial examining the effects of in-person versus remote hearings for self-represented family law litigants in the 3rd Judicial District Court of Utah (Salt Lake County). The project intends to examine case outcomes and litigant experience in both contexts. All four commissioners hearing family law matters agreed to participate in this innovative effort. 

The research team sorted cases randomly between in-person and remote contexts. As litigants left each court appearance, they were asked to answer a few questions about their experience via an iPad kiosk at the back of the courtroom or a follow-up email, with approximately 20 percent of litigants responding so far.

Early data trends suggest matters proceeded similarly regardless of medium, with little effect on time to disposition or appearance rates. The exception was in litigants’ ratings of perceived fairness, which was significantly lower in remote proceedings. Given the documented connection between perceptions of fairness and voluntary compliance, public trust, and system legitimacy, remote proceedings may come at a steep cost without targeted mitigation strategies to narrow this gap.

Data collection is still underway, with final results and corresponding policy and practice recommendations expected in 2024. Download a mid-project brief here or contact Emily LaGratta (Emily@lagratta.com) and Renee Danser (rdanser@law.harvard.edu) with questions or comments.

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#### GET FEATURED

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#### SJI GRANTEE SPOTLIGHTS

                  -  The Housing Navigator Program
		    	April 1, 2024 					
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                  -  Judicial Innovation Fellowship Program
		    	March 1, 2024 					
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                  -  Advancing Pretrial Justice Initiative
		    	February 1, 2024 					
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                  -  Juvenile Court Transformation: Intensive State Technical Assistance and a National Training Institute
		    	January 1, 2024 					
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#### LATEST NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

                  -  FY 2024 2nd Quarter SJI Board Meeting  Read More**   
                  -  Rapid Response Team Releases New Guidance on Implementing AI Technologies  Read More**   
                  -  New Report Shows How Courts Are Improving Hybrid Hearings  Read More**   
                  -  SJI Releases FY 2025 Budget  Read More**   

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