The American legal system is going through a phase of technical and structural change. Courts are increasingly faced with complicated issues involving decentralized finance, algorithmic systems, and digitally native evidence. Historically, courts were built upon paper files, regional jurisdiction, and relatively stable legal frameworks.
Cases combining blockchain governance, electronic discovery, artificial intelligence, and cryptocurrency transactions are becoming more common. Rather, they are starting to appear in court dockets at various judicial levels on a regular basis.
This change has revealed important institutional issues:
- Without standardized tools, courts must interpret extremely technical material.
- Legal practitioners have to deal with quickly changing regulatory environments.
- The intricacy of technology creates further obstacles for self-represented plaintiffs.
The Blockchain Legal Institute surveyed court employees and related legal researchers nationally to have a better understanding of these issues. The objective was to evaluate:
- Which resources do courts now use?
- What further resources do they think are required?