How Modern Court Systems Can Create Invisible Barriers to Due Process
By Michael Phillips | Father & Co.
Family court, criminal court, and dependency court all share a common promise: justice is open to the public. Hearings are presumptively accessible. Proceedings are meant to be observable. Parties are entitled to understand how to participate and how decisions affecting their lives are made.
But as courts increasingly rely on digital systems, remote hearings, and staff-mediated access, that promise is becoming harder to realize—especially for parents, families, and self-represented litigants.
A recent court records response provides a window into this problem, not through allegations or accusations, but through the court’s own policies and training manuals. What emerges is a quiet but consequential gap between formal access and practical access—a gap with real due-process implications.
Access Is No Longer Just a Door—It’s a System
In today’s courts, access is no longer as simple as walking into a courtroom and taking a seat. It is mediated through:
- Department-level digital accounts
- Remote audio and video platforms
- Staff-controlled admission and routing tools
- Administrative workflows that determine who hears what, and when
Internal court manuals confirm that courtroom staff—often judicial assistants or clerks—play a central role in managing these systems. They admit participants, route communications, process correspondence, and handle public and media inquiries according to established procedures.
None of this is improper. In fact, it is necessary in a high-volume, technology-driven court system.
But it also means that access is no longer self-executing. It is conditional.
The Barrier Most People Never See
For parents and families, especially those without lawyers, the most significant access barrier is often structural invisibility.
People are told:
- “Remote access is available.”
- “The hearing is public.”
- “You can contact the department.”
What they are rarely told is:
- How access is granted or denied
- Who controls admission to remote proceedings
- Where communications are routed
- What to do when access breaks down
When structural information about these systems is withheld—even as manuals confirm their existence—the result is not secrecy for its own sake. It is confusion, delay, and unequal participation.
For a parent trying to observe a hearing affecting their child, or a family member attempting to understand a criminal case, that confusion can feel indistinguishable from exclusion.
Due Process Is Not Just About Outcomes
Due process is often discussed in terms of rulings, evidence, and legal standards. But it also includes:
- The right to observe proceedings
- The ability to meaningfully participate
- The opportunity to raise concerns in real time
- The assurance that access is not arbitrary or opaque
When access depends on administrative systems that are not visible or understandable to the public, procedural fairness can erode even if legal rules are followed.
This matters in cases like People v. Smiel, where public interest, family impact, and questions of fairness intersect. The issue is not whether the court acted improperly in that case. The issue is whether modern access systems adequately protect the appearance and reality of due process for everyone affected.
Why Parents and Families Feel Shut Out
At Father & Co., we hear the same concerns repeatedly:
- “I couldn’t get into the hearing.”
- “No one responded to my emails.”
- “I didn’t know who to contact.”
- “I was told the court is public, but I couldn’t observe.”
These are not legal complaints in the traditional sense. They are access complaints—and they often fall into a gray area where no single person is at fault.
The problem is systemic:
- Access exists, but only through systems the public cannot see
- Policies exist, but not the map needed to navigate them
- Due process is honored formally, but strained practically
Transparency Is a Due-Process Safeguard
None of this requires courts to disclose sensitive information, private data, or internal deliberations. But it does suggest that structural transparency—at a high, role-based level—is not a threat to judicial independence. It is a safeguard.
When people understand:
- How access is granted
- Who manages it
- What steps exist when access fails
They are more likely to trust the system, even when outcomes are painful or unpopular.
The Question Courts Now Face
As courts continue to modernize, the central question is no longer whether access exists—but whether it is meaningful, understandable, and equitable.
For parents and families whose lives are shaped by court decisions, access is not an abstract principle. It is the difference between feeling heard and feeling erased.
The evolution of court technology makes this conversation unavoidable. And cases like People v. Smiel remind us that due process is not just a legal doctrine—it is an experience.
Editor’s Note
This article examines systemic access and due-process issues in modern courts. It does not allege misconduct and does not assess the merits of People v. Smiel. Father & Co. focuses on the lived experience of families navigating legal systems and the structural barriers they encounter.
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