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Tech can't replace court's face to face

Ten years ago when dotcom was all the rage, a company in the small, provincial town of New Plymouth promised a health revolution.
Written by Darren Greenwood, Contributor

Ten years ago when dotcom was all the rage, a company in the small, provincial town of New Plymouth promised a health revolution.

Dr Global began offering online medical consultations and recruited a string of doctors.

But shouldn't such medical services be carried out face to face? That way a doctor can make a much better diagnosis, being able to better see how the patient sweats, talks or has other symptoms.

The same applies to a new plan before the New Zealand Government to force court defendants to give their evidence in prison via video link instead of appearing in court.

This amazingly stupid idea aims to save time and money, but at what cost to justice?

Labour MP David Parker says defendants should not consent to such practices.

"Any one of us could be accused of a crime ... and one of the most basic civil liberties we have is when the state tries to incarcerate us for trials is the right to be there and defend ourselves."

Such video links, Parker says, may not allow effective representation.

"The camera will look at one thing, but there will be other things that are going on. The audio won't be perfect ... you can't interact with people. There are so many things that happen in a courtroom that you're not going to capture through technology."

And this is the point: it's essential to ensure justice is carried out.

You need to see the accused in person to better assess whether or not they are guilty.

You need to see the whites of their eyes, look for any shaking or trembling in their voice and other behaviours.

You need to get the whole picture, just like in any medical diagnosis. And that means the accused must be there, for the judge and/or the jury. That way, you can better tell if the accused is lying or telling the truth.

This also tells us why Dr Global failed in the end.

In time, its founder moved on to some interesting things too, including public speaking, TV appearances and even touring as a stand-up comedian!

I wonder if this foretells a similar future for New Zealand's Justice Minister Simon Power, if he does not see sense and realise there are limits to technology in the court room.

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