Pre-2020, virtual legal proceedings were the exception – not the norm. When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, legal proceedings in Ontario shifted from in-person to virtual overnight.
Some proceedings have since returned to in-person, but a lot of legal proceedings still take place on Zoom, or in a hybrid fashion where some parties may attend virtually, and others may attend in person.
Recently, the Ontario Court of Justice banned members of the public from attending proceedings virtually (with a few exceptions). The change is unsurprising. Virtual Courtrooms are increasingly falling victim to “Zoom Bombing” – a term used to describe the act of a third party attending a zoom hearing and disrupting it.
There are numerous examples of third parties attending hearings and broadcasting pornography and profane words or images for all Court participants and observers to see (Example 1, Example 2, Example 3).
Generally, Court proceedings must be open, and public. The thought of an “open and public” trial can often be frightening to the injury victim, but the good news is that typically members of the public do not attend personal injury trials, even though they are permitted to.
The principle of open court is a cornerstone of our justice system. It fosters public confidence and understanding. It ensures decision-makers are accountable not only to the parties and appellate courts, but to the public as well.
Allowing members of the public to attend court via zoom was a significant enhancement to the open court principle. For example, personal injury lawyers from across the province were able to attend the Divisional Court hearing for AIG Insurance Company v. Riddell, 2025 ONSC 1979 until that hearing fell victim to zoom bombing and had to proceed without any members of the public present.
There are some people who disagree with the decision to limit public access to zoom hearings. Open zoom hearings afforded members of the public access all kinds of hearings that would otherwise be impractical to attend.
There are also several exceptions to this new rule, in a nod to the principle of open court. For example, the policy does not apply to:
- parties and witnesses approved to testify virtually;
- virtual-only courts;
- public observers with authorization of the presiding judge to attend virtually;
- members of the media with permission to attend virtually; and
- complainants and victims with permission to attend virtually.
For folks with personal injury claims, these are adjudicated in the Superior Court of Justice (“SCJ”), not the Ontario Court of Justice (“OCJ”). For now, the SCJ will continue to allow members of the public to attend virtually. The SCJ is not devoid of zoom bombings, however. Only time will tell if the SCJ follows suit, and restricts public access to zoom hearings.
ROBERT MURPHY
Rob attended law school at Queen’s University and graduated with his Juris Doctor in 2020. He summered at and completed his articles with Weaver, Simmons LLP, a full-service firm in Northern Ontario. During his articles Rob had the opportunity to see personal injury files from both the plaintiff side and the defence side. After articles, Rob practiced injury law and general litigation with Kelly + Kelly Lawyers in Pembroke, until Kelly + Kelly’s civil litigation practice joined Bergeron Clifford in 2023.
