After dealing with widespread Webex disruptions, Colorado is testing a new virtual court system

Reprint of article from Colorado Public Radio.

By Ava Kian·Jul. 30, 2026, 4:00 am

After years of virtual courtroom disruptions that flooded Colorado court hearings with graphic violence, pornography and racist messages, the state’s judicial branch is testing a new platform designed for court proceedings. 

The judicial department is piloting “CourtCall” in certain courtrooms across 16 counties as it looks to replace Webex, which the department says has been vulnerable to disruptions that have hindered courts during online proceedings since 2023. 

The new platform is currently being used in Denver probate court, a courtroom at the Boulder County jail, two courtrooms in Jefferson County, two in Adams County and several others across the state. 

In a funding request for fiscal year 2025-26, Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice Monica Márquez noted that the disruptions began in 2023 and increased dramatically the following year.

According to the judicial department’s funding request, disruptors have streamed things like videos of beheadings and graphic sexual intercourse. They’ve also screamed racial slurs at people in the room. The request also said female judges and judges of color “have been targets of some of this worst behavior.” 

“It's challenging on the judge. It's challenging on the staff to manage Webex, and Webex has also brought additional challenges like the disruptors that are entering our virtual courtrooms day in and day out and causing disruption,” 18th Judicial District Court Chief Judge Michelle Amico said in a 2025 legislative Joint Budget Committee hearing.

At the time of the request, the department estimated that the disruptions happened up to 50 times daily across the state. A spokesperson for the judicial department said the disruptions are nowhere as frequent as 2024, but they’re still happening. 

At a recent Jefferson County court proceeding, a district court judge mentioned Webex disruptions and that staff are strictly monitoring the virtual room – urging people in the case to reach out if they’re trying to enter the room. 

The disruptions have gathered a lot of negative media coverage, which the department told the legislature compromises public confidence.

Legislature helps fund replacement effort

In the 2025 fiscal year, the department received $200,000 to research, gather requirements, and find a new digital court solution. 

“A courtroom requires strict role-based permissions, decorum, and order—factors that Webex does not inherently support,” the department told the legislature in January 2025.

The department later asked for an additional $540,938 to begin implementation of the project with a new vendor.  In the last legislative session, the judicial department also got an increase of $3 million in cash fund spending authority to spend on a solution. 

A spokesperson for the judicial department said that if CourtCall is adopted, it will result in subscription costs that the legislature has already approved. 

How’s CourtCall different? 

CourtCall was designed specifically for court settings, unlike the state’s Webex platform, which has a range of uses. 

One of the challenges with Webex that the judicial branch has cited is that the courts don’t have the ability to limit whose camera is on, meaning they have no control of what people can display if they enter the room. 

According to the department, there is no efficient way to prevent repeated and targeted disruptions. And since users don’t register with Webex prior to joining a proceeding, court staff manually screen participants, despite not being able to verify their identity before allowing them in. 

The CourtCall pilot in Colorado will run until the end of October, though it could be longer if more testing is needed, a spokesperson for the department said.  

According to CourtCall’s website, the platform is currently used in some courts in Arizona, California, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Texas, Ohio, Maine, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and a region of Canada. 

Original article can be found at: After dealing with widespread Webex disruptions, Colorado is testing a new virtual court system