Date of Conferral

2015

Degree

Doctor of Information Technology (D.I.T.)

School

Management

Advisor

David Gould

Abstract

Few state courtrooms in the United States have integrated information technology (IT) in court trials. Despite jurors' beliefs that using courtroom technology improves their abilities to serve as jurors, the attitudes and experiences among attorneys and judges toward the utility of IT continue to pose barriers. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore and describe the experiences of attorneys and judges in the State of Virginia with regard limited use of IT in state courtrooms. The conceptual framework included Davis, Bagozzi, and Warshaw's (1989) technology acceptance model; Rogers's (2003) diffusion of innovation theory; and Venkatesh, Morris, Davis, and Davis's (2003) unified theory of acceptance. A snowball sample of 22 attorneys and judges were interviewed using in-depth, semistructured questions. Data were analyzed using open coding techniques to identify themes and patterns with findings supporting the need for improved and expanded courtroom technology. Finding showed that attorneys and judges believed courtroom technology could be useful; however, the lack of training and the cost to implement technology limited their use of technology in courtrooms. Implications for positive social change include increasing the adoption rate of courtroom technology to support courtroom processes and empowering courts to improve the quality of justice through technology in an efficient and effective manner, thereby benefiting everyone in the judicial system and the public.

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