Please sign-in to your video chat-enabled, cloud-based virtual platform. The Municipal Court of the City of Alvin, Texas, is now in session.

While this might sound like a scenario from a work of science fiction, it is actually happening for defendants with business before a judge in Alvin, as well as in 60 courts throughout the U.S. Tyler Virtual Court. The solution offered by Tyler Technologies Inc. was introduced several months ago in direct response to the outbreak of COVID-19 as a way to help judges avoid having to shut the legal system down completely.

The process has worked so well in a short period of time that it has earned a “Best Remote Work Solution” award from Amazon Web Services Inc.

“The whole idea is to remotely go before the judge, find out what your options are, go through that process, and at the end it gives them a way to completely take care of that case,” said Sandy Peters (pictured, right), general manager of Incode Court at Tyler Technologies, an AWS partner. “Within a few minutes it can be completely resolved.”

Peters spoke with John Furrier, host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio, about the AWS Public Sector 2020 Partner Awards Program. He was joined by Sonya Cates (pictured, left), court administrator for the City of Alvin, and they discussed the process for adoption of the virtual tool by legal officials in Alvin and how citizens appreciate a court process that minimizes personal inconvenience. (* Disclosure below.)

Online resolution tool

The virtual court application leverages Tyler’s Incode online resolution tool, which allows speedy processing of paperwork to carry out a defendant’s agreement and judge’s decision. It took a leap of faith among court staff to embrace the AWS cloud-based solution.

“For us it was unknown territory; we were a little nervous, a little scared to do something of this sort,” Cates said. “With the situation at hand, we had to figure out something. And this was the best fit for us.”

Shutdown orders at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc on court systems across the country. The cloud-based tool has allowed the municipal court to clear a backlog of 800 cases, according to Cates. And the technology has helped the local citizenry as well.

“It’s a better relationship between the court and defendants because they have the option of not having to leave work or miss appointments,” Cates said. “They can still tend to their case and do other things without spending a couple of hours sitting in a room at the court.”

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the AWS Public Sector 2020 Partner Awards Program. (* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for the AWS Public Sector 2020 Partner Awards Program. Neither AWS, the sponsor for theCUBE’s event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE