MCA Approves Use of Webex for All Court Proceedings
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, we continue to evaluate and examine best practices for how to provide judiciary services and to safeguard judicial employees, defendants, attorneys and the public.
On April 27, 2020, the Missouri Court Automation Committee (MCA) approved the use of the MoCourts Webex account, which was established by the Office of State Courts Administrator (OSCA), for all court proceedings provided that the MoCourts Webex recording functionality shall not be utilized during any court proceeding. Information and tutorial links are provided to assist court staff with the use of MoCourts Webex. Be advised the Missouri Department of Corrections does not have Webex capability and courts will need to continue to use Scopia for connections to those institutions.
A court employee must use a MoCourts Webex account created for that employee by OSCA. If you are using a free Webex account, please discontinue using that account no later than June 1, 2020. In order to assign Webex resources in a timely and prioritized order, we are requesting the attached spreadsheet be completed by county and appellate courts. To register for a Webex account, the Presiding/Chief Judge must approve the linked registration spreadsheet and email it to the OSCA Help Desk at OSCA.Help.Desk@courts.mo.gov. Staff listed on the spreadsheet will receive an email from Cisco Systems (parent company of Webex) to activate their account. Please note the initial number of MoCourts Webex licenses are limited. A court may not receive all accounts initially requested. Additional licenses may be available in the future, at which time the courts requesting additional accounts will be notified.
Because the MoCourts Webex system is connected to the Internet, security is a priority; especially when conducting confidential hearings. OSCA IT recommends the following security requirements:
Please remember it is a fluid situation we find ourselves in and we will continue to make every effort to provide assistance and resources in a timely and professional manner. OSCA staff are researching the possibility for the public/media to view open court proceedings that use the MoCourts Webex system. Once the research and procedure are completed, additional information about this topic will be provided at a future date.
Please share this information with appropriate court staff.
If you questions or need assistance, please contact the OSCA Help Desk at 888-541-4894 or OSCA.Help.Desk@courts.mo.gov.
On April 27, 2020, the Missouri Court Automation Committee (MCA) approved the use of the MoCourts Webex account, which was established by the Office of State Courts Administrator (OSCA), for all court proceedings provided that the MoCourts Webex recording functionality shall not be utilized during any court proceeding. Information and tutorial links are provided to assist court staff with the use of MoCourts Webex. Be advised the Missouri Department of Corrections does not have Webex capability and courts will need to continue to use Scopia for connections to those institutions.
A court employee must use a MoCourts Webex account created for that employee by OSCA. If you are using a free Webex account, please discontinue using that account no later than June 1, 2020. In order to assign Webex resources in a timely and prioritized order, we are requesting the attached spreadsheet be completed by county and appellate courts. To register for a Webex account, the Presiding/Chief Judge must approve the linked registration spreadsheet and email it to the OSCA Help Desk at OSCA.Help.Desk@courts.mo.gov. Staff listed on the spreadsheet will receive an email from Cisco Systems (parent company of Webex) to activate their account. Please note the initial number of MoCourts Webex licenses are limited. A court may not receive all accounts initially requested. Additional licenses may be available in the future, at which time the courts requesting additional accounts will be notified.
Because the MoCourts Webex system is connected to the Internet, security is a priority; especially when conducting confidential hearings. OSCA IT recommends the following security requirements:
- The MoCourts Webex user account must have a strong password. Missouri Judiciary Electronic Information Security Guidelines
- Once all attendees are in the meeting, the host should Lock the meeting by creating good, strong password. Physical room units (Polycom, Cisco) only allow for numbers, so create a numerical password with a minimum of eight numbers to allow for compatibility.
- The video recording functionality in Webex should not be used. The official record of court proceedings is by using FTR Gold or a court reporter.
- If the user downloads Webex to their mobile device or computer, they must keep the software up-to-date by regularly checking for updates or preferably by turning on automatic updates to keep up with future security and system upgrades.
- How to change the video layout
- How to join a meeting
- How to lock the video to a specific participant
- How to share your screen or file
- How to have a sidebar, move an attendee to the lobby and bring back the attendee to the meeting, and expel an attendee to never rejoin the meeting
- How to use your phone to join or host a meeting
- To test your computer and Internet connection for using Webex
- Webex Security Best Practices
- Allow another host to schedule meetings on your behalf
Please share this information with appropriate court staff.
If you questions or need assistance, please contact the OSCA Help Desk at 888-541-4894 or OSCA.Help.Desk@courts.mo.gov.