ALBANY — In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic — which shut down courthouses across the state — the New York State Unified Court System has released a report on how courts can learn and improve going forward.

The report recommends an expansion of virtual court proceedings, enhancing technological capacity in courtrooms and hiring more staff.

The report was filed by the Commission to Reimagine the Future of New York’s Courts’ Pandemic Practices Working Group (PPWG), state officials said. The PPWG was comprised of more than three dozen judges, attorneys, and various executives from across the state. They held public hearings in Albany, New York City and Buffalo, conducted 30 remote listening sessions, heard testimony from over 300 people and reviewed thousands of pages of documents in regards to how courts operated during and after the pandemic.

“Having examined the court system’s pandemic practices objectively and in microscopic detail, the Working Group’s report is a clarion call that there is no going backwards,” said Hank Greenberg, chairman of the Commission to Reimagine the Future of New York’s Courts.

He continued, “A fundamental lesson learned from the pandemic was that virtual proceedings, in appropriate circumstances, are a ‘win-win’ for all concerned. The court system cannot snap back like a rubber band to all pre-pandemic customs, habits and practices. We now know that the expansion of virtual proceedings, and additional investments in technology and staffing, will enhance access to justice, improve the experience of litigants and save time and money.”

The full report is available for public viewing at the website www.NYCourts.gov.

Chief among the report’s recommendations is a need to increase the capabilities and ease of holding virtual court appearances. Most courts across the state conducted business almost exclusively in-person before the pandemic, and most courts were forced to switch to makeshift virtual set-ups in the months that followed the global shutdown.

“While not every type of matter or every proceeding is appropriate for virtual proceedings, they can mean greater convenience and accessibility to the courts, less time spent traveling to courthouses, and the ability for counsel to effectively represent more clients in more forums,” the report stated.

The virtual court appearances also created a system where clients and attorneys were given a specific time to appear on camera, which many of those interviewed said they preferred over the traditional system of having everyone be in court at a certain hour and calling cases in no particular order.

The report also recommended an increase in electronic paperwork filing, with a significant expansion to every court in the state.

In order to make these improvements work, the report recommended updating technology inside courtrooms and modernizing antiquated courthouses. This would include a new court website, technology kiosks for people who do not have reliable internet access on their own, and an expansion of technical support resources for both court staff and attendees.

The report also noted that none of this would be possible without hiring more people to work at the courthouses, and fill out the ranks of attorneys. The report stated that the court system was as affected by pandemic-related staffing shortages as many other industries.