Electronic Hearings (Zoom)

Information, Instructions, and Support for Zoom

The Idaho Courts have begun using remote hearing and meeting capability via Zoom to reduce in-person court sessions in response to COVID-19 (Coronavirus). Information on how to use Zoom including best practices and tips and tricks can be found here.

If your hearing will be held over Zoom, you will receive information about how to join your hearing in your Notice of Remote Hearing or other notification from the court. If you aren’t sure if you need to attend your hearing in person or via Zoom, please contact your local county courthouse.

This site is intended for attorneys and the public. Court personnel should refer to the internal pandemic response site for more information about hosting remote court hearings and meetings via Zoom.

If you require further assistance related to Zoom, the Service Desk is ready to help at [email protected], or by calling (208) 334-3868.

View our Training for Zoom Hearings Video.

Getting Started with Zoom

Users new to Zoom may find these resources helpful before getting started.

How-To Guides:

Video Tutorials:

Tips for Successful Usage

These tips are recommendations to give you the best possible Zoom experience, but they are not a requirement.

• Attendees will join the meeting on mute to prevent audio distraction or feedback. The host or the attendee can unmute at any time during the meeting.
• When speaking, remember to look directly at the webcam, not at the screen.
• Position the camera at your eye level or slightly above eye level.
• Be mindful of what is behind you, choose a solid neutral wall if possible.
• Check the lighting. Light from a window behind you might blind the camera, making you look dark. Light above you in the center of a room might also cast shadows. Ideally, position a lamp, or sit facing a window, where light is directly on your face. Also be aware that your monitor casts light that can make you look blue.
• Participants are encouraged to speak one at a time and to pause prior to speaking in case there is any audio/video lag.
• Participants are encouraged to mute themselves when not speaking in order to avoid any potential background noise.
• Test your connection and setup with Zoom ahead of time by testing your connection with a test meeting.

Frequently Asked Questions

Zoom Operations

Q. Do I need a Zoom license to participate in a Zoom hearing?
A. No. Participants can use a free Basic license to participate.

Q. Who is the meeting host? Is the host the only one that can admit people and otherwise operate the Zoom hearing?
A. The in-court clerk or the Judge will be the meeting host. Only the host or co-hosts can admit people, and otherwise operate the Zoom hearing/meeting.

Q. Can I use the chat feature during the hearing?
A. The chat feature will remain enabled, as it is a default feature in Zoom. Judges may choose to inform participants of the feature and how they would like it used prior to a court proceeding.

Q. Can attorneys use the Zoom chat feature to privately chat with their client? Does the host have access to those private chats?
A. In a court session, you can’t privately chat another participant. This feature has been disabled. Participants can only chat with the host privately. The Idaho Courts have disabled private chat and will not be saving chats with meeting recordings. Please be aware that if private chat was enabled, the host would be able to see all private chats within the meeting and could also be saved with the meeting recording.

We recommend that attorneys and clients use a means outside of Zoom (e.g. telephone) to communicate privately.

Q. Can I use a virtual background?
A. Yes, and here is some help [15].

Q. What platforms does Zoom support?
A. Windows, Mac, Android and iOS.

Q. I don’t have access to a computer with a webcam, so how do I join the Zoom hearing?
A. Zoom is supported on Windows, Mac, Andriod, and iOS. The camera on smart phones and other mobile devices can be used to join Zoom meetings with video. We recommend using the Zoom app on mobile devices if available. You can also join the Zoom meeting by computer without video if your computer does not have a webcam, which will allow you to see the judge and all other participants.

If you don’t have access to a computer, smartphone, or tablet, or if your computer does not have a microphone, you can call into the Zoom meeting by using the Join by Telephone instructions located in your Zoom meeting invitation or Notice of Remote Hearing documents.

Q. How do I join by telephone?
A. Locate the toll free number on your Notice of Remote Hearing documents or in the meeting invite. Call into that number using your personal phone. When prompted, enter the meeting ID found in the invitation and press #. You may be prompted for a password. You will join the meeting muted, to unmute yourself press *6.

Q. How do I switch to phone audio during a meeting?
A. There are some audio settings you can change within the Zoom meeting when using the Zoom application. In a Zoom meeting, click on the ^ icon in the bottom left corner next to the microphone and select "Switch to Phone Audio". A dialog box will appear where you can enter your phone number to have Zoom call you or you can call in using the toll free number. If you choose to call in using the toll free number, use the participant ID on your screen to tie your phone audio to your video so that all meeting participants can recognize who is speaking.

Q. Is there a one page resource I can reference or share with other participants?
A. Yes, please share this document [14].

Q. If I still need help, where do I ask my questions?
A. If you still have questions, The Zoom Help Center can be reached here [13]. You may also contact your local county courthouse for any court hearing related questions.

Zoom Security

Q. Is my Zoom hearing protected from hackers of "Zoom bombing"?
A. ISC and Zoom have implemented several security features and best practices to prevent against unwanted people joining your meeting.

• Meeting passwords are enabled by default. A user must have both the meeting ID and the meeting password to join your meeting.
• Waiting Rooms are enabled by default to prevent participants from joining before the host, and to allow hosts to control who enters the meeting after the meeting has started.
• The Lock Meeting feature has been enabled to allow hosts to lock the meeting after all participants have joined to prevent additional users from attempting to join.
• Meeting hosts and co-hosts have the ability to remove unwanted participants from meetings and prevent them from rejoining.

For more information about Zoom privacy and security, please visit: https://zoom.us/docs/en-us/privacy-and-security.html.

Source URL: https://isc.idaho.gov/isc-zoom

Links

[1] mailto:[email protected]

[2] http://isc.idaho.gov/zoom/Installing_and_Using_Zoom.pdf

[3] https://isc.idaho.gov/zoom/zoom_security_v4_04132020.pdf

[4] https://isc.idaho.gov/zoom/Zoom-Onboarding-0408020.pdf

[5] https://youtu.be/qsy2Ph6kSf8

[6] https://youtu.be/hIkCmbvAHQQ

[7] https://youtu.be/XhZW3iyXV9U

[8] https://youtu.be/UOh_UOUW1y0

[9] https://youtu.be/ygZ96J_z4AY