Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice Monica Márquez highlighted “coordinated attacks” on Colorado’s virtual courtrooms during her State of the Judiciary remarks Friday, stressing the need to upgrade the system that has expanded public access to judicial proceedings.

The use of Webex to broadcast court proceedings became widespread in Colorado after the COVID-19 pandemic struck in early 2020. House Bill 23-1182 and Chief Justice Directive 23-02 made the livestreaming of criminal court proceedings around the state commonplace.

The public-facing virtual court site only lets people watch and listen to proceedings, not participate in them. But Márquez told legislators there are “individuals who sneak into virtual courtrooms, sometimes posing as actual parties and witnesses, and they hijack the proceedings by screaming racial epithets at litigants and judges and streaming pornographic, racist or violent video.”