ABSTRACT
The Parramatta Justice Precinct in western Sydney is a state-of-the-art, technologically integrated and high security complex, home to the New South Wales State Parole Authority. Early in my research, I visited the courthouse to observe a morning of videoconferenced parole hearings. As I walked into Court 7, I was startled by the number of screens installed throughout the contemporary courtroom. I had never seen anything like it before – the courtroom felt more like a television studio or video art installation rather than a place of adjudication. I counted over 20 screens and each had the same image of a middle-aged man, staring straight ahead and dressed in a green T-shirt, standard issue of Corrective Services New South Wales. Hanging behind the man was a blue sheet with a paper notice attached at a careless angle. It read ‘Mid North Coast C.C.’.
