Culver City Observer -

Registration for Appearances Temporarily Reduced From 30 to Seven (7) Days in Advance of Hearing While Modifications Underway

The Superior Court of Los Angeles County will soon begin a phased transition of new and enhanced features in LACourtConnect (LACC) that will, among other changes, allow parties and attorneys to chat and talk privately, screen share and view the courtroom proceedings before their case is called in a secure, virtual gallery environment.

“The Court expedited the development and deployment of LACC during the first months of the pandemic,” Presiding Judge Eric C. Taylor said. “We accelerated its implementation to offer a safe, convenient solution to access justice remotely in more than 250 courtrooms. Since its launch in June 2020, more than 1 million participants have appeared remotely through LACC. With the ongoing feedback from users and our bench, we continuously add new features to make it better. These exciting changes in the next few months will continue our steadfast commitment to expand and improve access to justice.”

The phased rollout will first begin in Probate, followed by Civil, Family Law and Traffic courtrooms. Afterward, the Court will then move Juvenile Dependency courtrooms fromWebex to LACC for remote courtroom appearances tentatively scheduled for April/May.

To prepare for the transition, LACC has temporarily reduced scheduling for hearings to seven (7) days before the hearing instead of 30 days. After the transition is done, registration will be restored to 30 days in advance of a hearing.

New features in LACC include a “virtual gallery” where attendees can:

• Test their equipment;

• View court announcements;

• Hear and see the courtroom proceedings;

• Chat and talk privately with other participants before the hearing; and

• Screen share before they are admitted into the “virtual well” meeting space to participate in the hearing.

As part of the improved security, all LACC users will now be required to have and use their uniquely assigned CourtID for registration. Office managers and others may continue to register attorneys but must use the CourtID assigned to the attorneys who will be appearing remotely. Please note that participants may use their existing CourtID and password which is also used for other Court applications, such as the Attorney Portal.

Instructions for how to sign up for a CourtID can be found on the LACC landing page under “Create a New Account.”

LACC training materials and video assistance will be available from the LACC website and Attorney Portal shortly before the launch date for Probate.

For more information, follow the Court on Twitter (@LASuperiorCourt) and visit the Court’s website (LACourt.org).