Abstract
For thousands of years, trials were held in brick-and-mortar courthouses. Then COVID-19 ravaged the world, forcing many businesses and institutions—including courts—to move their operations online. For the first time, many people experienced the benefits of online trials that are held via videoconference software such as Zoom. But Zoom fatigue is real. Now that the pandemic has lessened and courts are no longer urgently adapting to a virtual format, we must more thoughtfully consider what judicial innovations should come next. Outside of the courtroom, this revolution in communication methods has profoundly affected people’s daily lives: we have switched from almost entirely synchronous human interactions, such as phone calls and in-person meetings, to diversified asynchronous communication methods, such as texts, voicemail, email, and social media. This revolution is characterized by a generational divide: younger generations are both more accepting of and more dependent on asynchronous communication. This Article proposes pairing trials and asynchronous communication to produce asynchronous trials for high-volume civil adjudication. Some international jurisdictions and a few state courts have already started to explore this possibility. Most courts in the United States, however, have been slower to realize asynchronous trials’ potential. This Article explains how the U.S. synchronous tradition at common law motivates widespread hesitancy—one might even say hostility—toward asynchronous trials. It also discusses existing U.S. and international asynchronous trial initiatives, explores the pros and cons of asynchronous trials, and provides preliminary proposals for developing procedural and evidentiary rules to govern asynchronous trials.
First Page
659
Recommended Citation
Henry Zhuhao Wang, Asynchronous Trials: A New Approach to High-Volume Civil Adjudication, 102 Denv. L. Rev. 659 (Spring 2025).
Publication Statement
2025-03-01