Administrative Procedures

The following administrative procedures are applicable to all ITV proceedings: (a) Off-Camera Presence. During a hearing conducted by ITV, all off-camera persons at any participating ITV terminal site must be identified for the record. This shall not apply to members of the public located in general public seating areas of any courtroom. (b) Court Administrator Duties. The court administrator for each county shall be responsible for the following: (1) Ensure that the ITV equipment is ready and functioning properly in advance of any ITV hearing, so that there will be no interference with the punctual commencement of a hearing. Published by the Revisor of Statutes under Minnesota Statutes, section 3C.08, subdivision 1. GENERAL RULES OF PRACTICE 134 MINNESOTA COURT RULES (2) Provide participants an opportunity to become familiar with use of the ITV equipment and courtroom procedure prior to commencement of the hearing. (3) Set ITV system configuration as designated by the presiding judge. The presiding judge shall consider the objections or concerns of any party. (4) Monitor audio and video quality, making adjustments and providing technical assistance throughout the hearing as necessary. (5) Ensure that any court documents or exhibits that the judge or judicial officer will require prior to or during the course of the hearing are delivered or available to the judge or judicial officer prior to commencement of the hearing. (6) Be familiar with problem management procedures, including steps to be taken in performing initial problem determination, identity and location of individual(s) who should be contacted if initial problem/resolution attempts fail, and service call placement procedures. (c) Technical Standards. The following technical standards should be followed: (1) To optimize picture clarity, the room should have diffused lighting and window shades to block external light. (2) To optimize viewing, monitors should be placed in a darkened area of the room and be of sufficient size and number to allow convenient viewing by all participants. (3) Cameras and microphones should be sufficient in number to allow video and audio coverage of all participants, prevent crowding of participants, facilitate security, and protect confidential communications. (4) Audio and visual must be synchronized and undistorted. (5) All hearing participants should speak directly into their microphones. (Adopted effective March 1, 2009; amended effective July 1, 2015.) Advisory Committee Comment - 2008 Amendment In October 1999 the Supreme Court informally approved the use of ITV in civil cases but did not adopt any specific rules. The addition of Rule 131 in 2008 is intended to provide a uniform procedure permitting the use of interactive video teleconferencing (ITV) to conduct hearings and admit oral testimony in civil cases. It is based on protocols developed and implemented for a pilot project in the Ninth Judicial District and later tweaked by a subcommittee of the Court's former Technology Planning Committee. The success of the pilot project is reported in NATIONAL CENTER FOR STATE COURTS, COURT SERVICES DIVISION, ASSESSMENT OF THE INTERACTIVE TELEVISION PROGRAM IN THE NINTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA (Sept. 1999).