Northern District of Illinois

Nearly every courtroom in both the Dirksen and Roszkowski U.S. Courthouses offers high definition (HD) presentation capacity, integrated evidence presentation equipment, and video conferencing capability.

For a demonstration or training on the use of the evidence presentation equipment, to schedule a video conference, or to reserve mobile evidence equipment for non-equipped courtrooms please call (312) 435-6045 or click here to send an email message to the Court's AV Technology Specialist.

Requirements for Connecting Laptops to Evidence Presentation Systems:

All laptops should have either an HDMI or VGA video output and be capable of outputting video up to 1920x1080.

Any devices without HDMI or VGA that are to be used for trial presentation will require their own adapters.

Requirements for Video Conferencing for Trials and Hearings:

The Court can connect to witnesses, attorneys, and other parties remotely via video conferencing using the Judiciary's National Video Teleconference Service. The Court has also recently implemented online meetings using WebEx, Cisco Meeting Server, and Microsoft Teams. The use of and choice of video platform used is at the Judge's discretion. The Court may provide video carts to integrate with the evidence presentation system to allow full view of the courtroom, as well as evidence presentation to remote participants. Details for connecting remotely to a hearing will be provided by the Court, but parties should ensure access to a reliable internet connection, webcam, and microphone. For more information, to schedule in-court video conference equipment, or to schedule a brief test, please contact the Court's AV Technology Administrator at 312-435-6045 as far in advance as possible.

Remote Proceedings Instructions for Attorneys

Jury Evidence Recording System

Information on jury deliberations using the Jury Evidence Recording System (JERS) can be found here.

Best Practices for Remote Participation in Telephone/Videoconference Court Proceedings

Telephone and/or video hearings are official court proceedings. Appearances are required. Participants in such hearings should review the following best practices to facilitate an accurate record the same as if the proceeding were taking place in person in a courtroom. Participants are expected to follow these best practices.

Telephone hearings: Do not use a speakerphone. A handset or headset should be used to ensure the clarity of audio input. If available, a landline is preferable to a cellphone. Participants should be in a quiet place, not in a vehicle, outdoors, or in a public area. While waiting for a case to be called, participants should mute their telephones to eliminate potentially disruptive background noise and feedback on the line while other matters are being heard. In addition, during a hearing participants should mute their telephones except when speaking.

Participants in telephonic hearings involving multiple speakers should identify themselves by name orally each time when speaking. In addition, participants should speak clearly, taking care to avoid interrupting or speaking over others.

A telephone conference monitor link may be available on the judge's home page. When available, participants are expected to use this link to input their names before commencement of a hearing to assist in proper identification of each person during the proceedings.

Video hearings: Video hearing participants need to have adequate bandwidth to participate in videoconferencing. Participants should join the proceedings using a laptop or tablet if available rather than a cellphone. Use of a headset is preferable to ensure clarity of audio input. If clear audio cannot be established via a participant's computer, the participant should dial in to the audio line for the videoconference. Participants should speak clearly, taking care to avoid interrupting or speaking over others.