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Acknowledgments
The authors bear sole responsibility for the views expressed in this Report.
We have, however, been assisted in its development by a large number of
people and organisations who have made valuable contributions to the Report by
providing information, assistance and advice. We wish to thank the individuals
and organisations named below, and to thank (and apologise to) any others who
we have inadvertently failed to mention.
The National Crime Authority and its Chairman, Tom Sherman, took the
initiative in proposing and funding this Report, and in providing us with a
forum to present our draft findings at the NCA's annual conference in June
1992. John Buxton, the NCA's General Manager, Policy and Information, was
instrumental in developing our terms of reference and in guiding and
encouraging the Report's development. The NCA was particularly generous in
funding our first-hand inspections of developments in South Australia, Western
Australia and Victoria, and in assisting the funding of our research in the
USA. Former NCA Chairman Mr Justice Phillips encouraged the NCA to take
initiatives in this area with his presentation to the NCA's 1991 Annual
Conference.
The Australian Institute of Judicial Administration agreed to supervise the
project, and to publish and disseminate the Report. The AIJA acquired
substantial materials from the USA to assist in its preparation. It provided
another forum for our draft findings at its Annual Conference in August 1992.
The past and present Chairmen of the AIJA, Justices Beaumont and Clark, have
encouraged the project, and AIJA Executive Director Professor Peter Sallmann
and his staff have provided assistance wherever it has been requested. Mrs Margaret
McHutchison, the Administrator of the AIJA and other AIJA staff assisted with
organisational matters.
Our AIJA Advisory Committee, Justice Seaman of the Supreme Court of Western
Australia, Justice Olsson of the Supreme Court of South Australia, and AIJA
Executive Director Professor Peter Sallmann provided detailed comments on our
drafts, with many valuable suggestions. Justices Seaman and Olsson were
generous with their time and assistance when we visited their States, ensuring
we were well acquainted with developments in their jurisdictions.
Professor Mark Aronson deserves special thanks on a number of fronts: for
insisting to all concerned that a report on information technology in complex
trials was needed to complement his own Managing Complex Criminal
Trials: Reform of the Rules of Evidence and Procedure (Aronson (1992);
for encouraging us to take on the task of preparing it; for
providing in his Report such a lucid foundation to which we could [PPviii]
add our own comments and recommendations (often only a slight gloss
on his); and for providing many helpful comments, suggestions and
explanations as we developed our Report.
In Western Australia we received assistance from the Crown Law Department and
the WA DPP Rothwells Task Force including assistance from Don Doig, Under-
Secretary of Law, and David Marshall and Lyndsay Bath of the Information
Technology Branch; from the Department's consultants, Corporate Systems
Planning, including David Hubbard and Anthony Doig; and from Peter Connolly
and Chris Edge of the Royal Commission into the Commercial Activities of
Government and Other Matters.
In South Australia we received assistance from Ian Rhode, Manager, Management
Information Services, Court Services Department, and from Mauro Maurovic and
Chris Doull of the Department; from Dennis Meredith, Manager of the Court
Reporting Division; from James Hartnett, Director, Legal Services Commission;
from Elizabeth Wakehurst and Cathy Edie of the Royal Commission into the State
Bank of South Australia; and from Steven McNamara of LMCS consultancy
services.
In Victoria we received assistance from Judge David Jones of the Victorian
County Court; from officers of the Office of the Director of Public
Prosecutions, Victoria; from Jeff Leeuwenburg at the Australian Securities
Commission; from officers of the National Crime Authority; from Harold Cottee
from the Melbourne office of the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions;
and from Dale Wickberg of Vantage Enterprises Pty Ltd, consultants on legal
video communications.
In New South Wales we received assistance from Trevor Stacey, Director,
Reporting Services Branch, Department of Courts Administration; from Randy
Bowden, consultant to the Department of Courts Administration; from Ernest
Schmatt, Executive Director of the Judicial Commission of New South Wales;
from Gary Anderson and Michael Sands of the office of the NSW Director of
Public Prosecutions; and from John Nader QC and Jillian Orchiston of the
Criminal Law Review Division, Attorney General's Department.
We received invaluable assistance from Tony Waddick, Alex Maroulis, Gayle
Linney and Ray Plibersek of the Sydney office of the Commonwealth Director of
Public Prosecutions, particularly in relation to the DPP's consent and
assistance for us to demonstrate systems developed by the DPP at a number of
conferences. Simon Lewis of LMCS, litigation support consultants to the DPP,
has been particularly helpful.
Assistance was also received from Graham Reynolds, Manager, AUSCRIPT; and
Helen Case, Director of Transcripts Australia Pty Ltd. The Association of
Litigation Support Managers provided valuable submissions and the opportunity
to address its Annual Conference. Helpful submissions and information were
also received from David Levin of the Victorian Bar; Len Flanagan QC, Director
of Public Prosecutions for the Northern Territory; Greg Melick of Gunson,
Pickard and Hann, Barristers and Solicitors, Hobart; and Tony Bell of R J
Perry and Associates.
The developers and distributors of a number of the programs discussed
in the Report provided helpful information concerning their products,
including Ian Turnbull of Knowledge
Engineering Pty Ltd (Titan), Mark Reiss of Odyssey [PPix]
Development Pty Ltd (ISYS) and Damian Hyland of QCom Pty Ltd
(The Corporate Retriever).
In the United States, at the Administrative Office of the United States
Courts, Office of Automation and Technology, Washington DC, EL (Larry) Stoorza
(Assistant Director) and J Michael (Mike) Greenwood (Public Access Project
Director, Technology Enhancement Office) devoted a substantial amount of time
to briefing one of the authors on developments in US Federal Courts. Equally
generous in providing a detailed briefing on US State Court developments was
Kevin Kilpatrick of the Technical Information Service, National Center for
State Courts, Williamsburg VA, and other NCSC staff. Bob Roper of the NCSC's
Institute for Court Management and Judge Richard B Klein of the Court of
Common Pleas, Philadelphia, PA also provided valuable materials.
From the United Kingdom, Joyce Plotnikoff of the University of Birmingham,
Stephen Saxby of The University, Southampton, and Mark Tantam of Touche Ross,
London, all provided valuable materials on UK developments. Mr Justice
Tompkins of the Supreme Court of New Zealand provided helpful details
concerning the Equiticorp trial. Professor Robert Franson of the University of
Alberta provided information on Canadian developments.
In the early stages of the project Patrick Gunning, BSc (Com Sci), LLB (UNSW)
provided valuable research assistance, and Professor Alan Tyree of the
University of Sydney gave many helpful suggestions.
We have attempted to take account of developments to January 1993, and in a
few cases matters that have arisen since then.
Graham Greenleaf Andrew Mowbray
Faculty of Law Faculty of Law
University of New South Wales University of Technology, Sydney
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