People’s Attitudes towards Technologies in Courts

Abstract

Courts are high-stakes environments; thus, the impact of implementing legal technologies is not limited to the people directly using the technologies. However, the existing empirical data is insufficient to navigate and anticipate the acceptance of legal technologies in courts. This study aims to provide evidence for a technology acceptance model in order to understand people’s attitudes towards legal technologies in courts and to specify the potential differences in the attitudes of people with court experience vs. those without it, in the legal profession vs. other, male vs. female, and younger vs. older. A questionnaire was developed, and the results were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Multigroup analyses have confirmed the usefulness of the technology acceptance model (TAM) across age, gender, profession (legal vs. other), and court experience (yes vs. no) groups. Therefore, as in other areas, technology acceptance in courts is primarily related to perceptions of usefulness. Trust emerged as an essential construct, which, in turn, was affected by the perceived risk and knowledge. In addition, the study’s findings prompt us to give more thought to who decides about technologies in courts, as the legal profession, court experience, age, and gender modify different aspects of legal technology acceptance.