ABSTRACT
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, state civil courts turned to technology to remain “open” to the public. This reliance on technology has remained a key component of ongoing court operations. While technology has provided important access points and efficiencies, it has also interacted in nuanced ways with litigants’ lived realities and the state civil court systems’ existing structures, with critical impacts on women's equitable access to the court system. This chapter interrogates the consequences of increased use of technology as a communication tool or gateway to accessing the courts, particularly the assumption that using technology in this manner can operate to make the courts equally available to potential litigants. I conclude by offering some lessons learned and questions to consider for how best to use technology as an access tool in court systems, with the goal of centering access to justice, including gender equity, in these important innovations.
