It's 2026. But at your local courthouse, it might as well be 1999. That's because cell phones are not allowed in most courthouses across Virginia.
Senator Saddam Salim is a Democrat from Fairfax County who has a bill that would let people bring phones into the courthouse if they have evidence on them they want to present in court.
"If I'm going to the courthouse, and I took some pictures and evidence and I have all of those things on my phone or my iPad, only to find out that I'm not able to bring in my electronic devices. So now all my evidence that I took with me or that could aid me in the case is no longer relevant or available to me," Salim explains.
Jay Speer at the Virginia Poverty Law Center says it's not just evidence. It also might be important notes or the text of a speech or any of the other things people keep on their devices.
"People have their calendars on there," Speer notes. "So sometimes you have to come back, and the judge will ask you if you can come back on February 6. And you don't have your calendar to find out if you can or not, and it's not fair that the lawyers can have their phones and nobody else."
Sometimes courthouses prohibit people from bringing phones into the building without offering a place to store them, leading some people to try hiding them in bushes outside the courthouse. Salim says it's time to bring the devices out of the bushes and into the courtrooms, at least in some situations.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
