Previous Document

trials it may therefore often be the case that some defendants         [PP66]
are represented by lawyers with no access to extensive litigation
support facilities. It seems to be a practical solution
to the potential problem of the cost of duplicating expensive litigation
support facilities where there are multiple defendants with different
representation, for a legal aid agency to provide what is in effect a 'bureau'
service for litigation support, the costs of which would have to be met from
the grant of legal aid. This matter should be considered as part of any future
study of the role of legal aid agencies, whether by the AIJA or governments.

   Legal aid providers should be encouraged to provide litigation support
   facilities on a 'bureau' basis to those members of the private
   profession acting in criminal trials under legal aid who do not have
   litigation support facilities of their own. This matter should be
   addressed in any future consideration of the role of legal aid
   agencies, particularly in light of the need to provide legal aid to
   defendants charged with serious crimes.
   

Access to Court administration facilities


In South Australia it is proposed that the profession will in time have access
to the LIS litigation support component, at least to the extent of accessing
the same transcript retrieval system as that accessed by the Court. Access
would be available on a dial-up basis, so the defendant's representatives
would be able to access the system when the Court was not sitting.

Such facilities can most readily be provided in relation to transcript where
the Court itself is using transcript retrieval, but should, where possible, be
extended to allow access to other forms of litigation support. Such facilities
can conveniently be provided in conjunction with research facilities and other
facilities of benefit to the legal profession, as is proposed in South
Australia.

   Departments or agencies responsible for the provision of information
   technology to Courts should be encouraged to provide to the parties
   to trials access to the litigation support facilities that they
   develop for Courts. Such access should be provided on a cost recovery
   basis where a defendant would otherwise not have access to equivalent
   facilities.
   
We do not envisage that such facilities would often be used, as defendants'
lawyers will usually prefer to use their own facilities, and their main
interest will be in obtaining compatible data. Nor is such access likely to
provide the level of training, continuing support, or flexibility, which is
necessary for effective litigation support for the parties. However, it may be
a valuable 'last resort' facility.



                                                            Next Document