Florida Shines with Connected Justice

The verdict is in. The Ninth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida’s innovative interpretation services are revolutionizing the legal system throughout the Sunshine State.

On a public sector roundtable today at Cisco Live!, the Ninth Circuit’s Trial Court Administrator Matt Benefiel shared insights on the Florida court system and the challenges the state faced in providing equal services to its culturally and demographically diverse communities.

With citizens speaking English, Spanish, Creole, Mandarin, Russian, Vietnamese and a number of other languages, including those who communicate through American Sign Language (ASL), the state of Florida was spending millions of dollars each year on court interpretation services.

In search of a solution that would reduce costs and improve the efficiency of interpretation services during court processes, the Ninth Circuit adopted Cisco’s Connected Justice solutions.

Connected Justice is transforming how courts, law enforcement officials, correctional facilities and healthcare systems collaborate with each other through video technology, serving citizens across multiple geographies and driving out significant costs while speeding the judicial process.

Connected Justice streamlines the state and local judicial process from arraignment to trial to incarceration to parole via Cisco’s unified network, eliminating the need for transporting prisoners or processing visitors and reducing the supervisory costs associated with both. The solutions further support remote appearance, visitation and interpretation services that enhance public safety and reduce recidivism.

Using a remote, centralized interpreting system, the Ninth Circuit is now able to provide on-demand language interpretation services to courts, bringing in – via real-time video technology – certified interpreters for any language a litigant or litigator might need.

In addition to significantly reducing court costs and streamlining the judicial process, the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida is a prime example of a legal system with enhanced order in the court.

For more information on Connected Justice and how it’s impacting courts, corrections and public safety, visit Cisco Connected Justice.