Hutchison E-Trial in Vancouver’s Courtroom 67

The Hutchison E-Trial is set to begin July 2 in Vancouver’s Courtroom 67. Courtroom 67 is one of the city’s high-technology courtrooms: it was built to accommodate a high-profile criminal case in 2012.

The Hutchison E-Trial heard evidence in Victoria before Justice Dev Dley from April 15 – May 28, 2019. Justice Dev Dley ordered the case run as an e-trial using the UK program, Caselines, and the parties to Hutchison v. Moore; BCSC Victoria Actions S-123664 and 151985 became the first in Canada to use this e-trial platform. Caselines is a cloud-based program, and if the program runs as it does in courts in England and Wales, the parties to Hutchison should be able to arrive in court with their laptops, access their case in the cloud, and begin closing submissions.

The E-Trial experience has been a success. Early feedback includes an appreciative comment from one lawyer who said, “This is me going home for the weekend”, and indicated that he was leaving the courthouse with only a single briefcase containing his laptop.

Why it matters: The BC Government and the BC Judiciary are actively looking into Caselines, and the closing arguments in Vancouver will mark Caseline’s debut in the Vancouver Courthouse. This is a chance for anyone interested in E-Trials to see this program in action. Closing submissions are scheduled to run from July 2 – 15, 2019.

Editors Note: The parties to Hutchison v. Moore finished presenting argument as scheduled on July 15, 2019. Justice Dev Dley provided Reasons for Judgment on September 3, 2019. The decision has been appealed.