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The criminal courtroom is undergoing a shift wherein its outcomes are now more readily available to the public via digital media, and its processes and practices are increasingly likely to rely on audio-visual technology. From the move towards online courts, to the increased reliance on photographic evidence, from the recent introduction of courtroom broadcasting to the use of live-link video for witness testimony, the twenty-first century courtroom is steadily moving into a virtual realm.

This one-day symposium will explore the emergence, implications, and impact of these new technologies of transmission in the courtroom. Discussion will focus on three inter-related topics: the as-live transmission of court and inquiry proceedings via tweets and video footage; the use of live link technology and visual evidence in criminal trials; and the move towards online adjudication and sanctions (the so-called ‘virtual courtroom’). In creating a space to consider these important developments alongside one another, the symposium seeks to develop shared insights around the key themes of transparency, visuality, and mediatization. A key concern will be what’s lost — if anything — in the turn towards visual and digital technologies in the courtroom, and the effects of mediation on jurors, witnesses, defendants, and the public.

This event is sponsored by the Socio-Legal Studies Association and the Department of Social and Policy Sciences, University of Bath.

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