The attorney-client working relationship: A comparison of in-person versus videoconferencing modalities.

Abstract

The current study compared criminal defendants' perceptions of attorney-client working relationship variables across in-person and videoconferencing consultation modalities. Defendants participated in pre-trial consultations with their defense attorneys either inperson (n ϭ 22) or via videoconference (n ϭ 21) and then completed a series of measures assessing their perceptions of working alliance, trust, procedural fairness, and satisfaction with attorney services. Results of a series of multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVA) procedures, independent samples t-tests, and Mann-Whitney U tests revealed no significant between-group differences in defendants' ratings of each of these variables. In addition, estimates of effect size indicated generally small experimental effects. Examination of descriptive and frequency statistics indicated defendants provided positive ratings of videoconference consultations. These findings are considered to be preliminary given the methodological limitations of this study; however, results suggested that core components of the attorney-client working relationship were not significantly altered with the use of videoconferencing. Furthermore, results suggested defendants found videoconferencing to be an acceptable medium for facilitating attorney-client pre-trial consultations. These results are consistent with research findings regarding the acceptability of correctional telehealth and telemental health services, and extend this research to the domain of attorney-client consultations. Implications for legal practice and policy are discussed, as is the need for further research in this area.

Technology for assessment and treatment of justice-involved youth: A systematic literature review.

“…That said, the use of e-mental health for the justice system is not novel. For instance, videoconferencing provides an alternative to in-person court hearings and attorney–client meetings (Davis et al, 2015; McDonald et al, 2016). Mobile phones help facilitate behavioral health assessment and treatment services (Sales et al, 2018).…”

Court Appearances in Criminal Proceedings Through Telepresence: Identifying Research and Practice Needs to Preserve Fairness While Leveraging New Technology

“…• data storage and security: Securely storing the large quantities of video and audio data generated by video-conferencing that must be preserved according to court policies can be both costly and burdensome (Webster and Hall, 2009;NCSC, undated; Maryland Administrative Office of the Courts, 2012). • impact on the defendant-attorney relationship: Telepresence might negatively affect the attorney-client relationship by threatening the ability of clients and their attorneys to carry out private communications (Bellone, 2015;Dona et al, 2005;Gibbs, 2017;McDonald, Morgan, and Metze, 2016).…”

The Impact of the Leading Digital Technologies on Criminal Proceedings: A Case of Video Conferencing

“…Of course, it is not always possible to determine what actually happened during the videoconferencing procedure -whether mistakes or abuses were made during the videoconferencing session itself (McDonald et al 2016). However, this state of affairs will remain only until a certain time -namely, until the qualitative development of this means of proof and its transformation into a web conference, when any personal device of the user participating in criminal proceedings could be safely used for communication.…”