Administrative Board of Courts Seeking Public Comment on Proposed New Rule Concerning Use of Virtual-Evidence Courtrooms

Posted: June 23, 2025 / Written by: Jeffrey M. Eilender, Thomas A. Kissane, Samuel L. Butt, Joshua Wurtzel, Channing J. Turner / Category Trial

Administrative Board of Courts Seeking Public Comment on Proposed New Rule Concerning Use of Virtual-Evidence Courtrooms

The Administrative Board of Courts is seeking public comment on a proposal recommended by the Commercial Division Advisory Council to amend the Rules of the Commercial Division by adding a new Rule 25-a related to the use of the virtual-evidence courtroom ("VEC"), which is a secure, web-based digital platform that centralizes trial exhibits, evidence, and case files, making them accessible to the court and counsel.

The proposed new rule would not mandate the use of VECs in the Commercial Division, but would instead simple encourage their use. Critically, under the proposed new rule, documents uploaded to the VEC will be available only to those persons given access by the court, and they would not be made available to the public--meaning that documents that must be filed with the court must be separately uploaded to the NYSCEF docket.

Anyone wishing to comment on the proposed new rule should email their submissions to rulecomments@nycourts.gov, or write to David Nocenti, Esq., Counsel, Office of Court Administration, 25 Beaver Street, 10th Fl., New York, New York 10004. All comments must be received no later than August 8, 2025.

Contact the Commercial Division Blog Committee at commercialdivisionblog@schlamstone.com if you or a client have questions concerning this proposed new rule.