Reality Life

The physical courtroom may be a thing of the past, if Virginia’s College of William and Mary has its way. Its “Courtroom 21” project predicts that virtual courtrooms will be the future, with holographic Internet videoconferencing technologies used to bring together judges, jurors, witnesses and defendants, rather than transporting everyone to the same room. “You really can come up with a cyber court with no one physically present,” says Courtroom 21 director Fred Lederer. Judges and clerks can link to legal databases to check case law, and can use instant messaging software to “chat” with others about the proceedings. (AP) ...20th century appeal grounds: “My lawyer was asleep.” 21st century appeal grounds: “My judge was in a chat room with ‘Wicked Wendy’.”