Orange County, California E-Filing Benefits Reported

Orange County Courthouse

In response to our earlier Court Technology Bulletin article regarding the difficulty in quantifying the benefits of E-filing, we heard from the Judicial Council of California regarding a recently submitted report to their legislature on the topic.

This and That in Court Technology – December, 2014

Nevada Chief Justice Mark Gibbons

Notes and article links about E-Courts, Wearable Evidence in courts, a settlement about inaccurate court data in a credit bureau, monitor twisting, smartphone driver’s licenses, a “Moneyball” approach to crime prosecution, E-filing at Michigan appellate courts, the Texas Bar online legal education website, Ms. Sharon Nelson, and upcoming conferences in this month's This and That.

A Recommended E-Courts 2014 Session

Having just returned home from the excellent E-Courts 2014 conference, I would like to recommend a particular session on digital preservation.

E-Filing Benefits are Hard to Quantify

With E-courts 2014 coming next week, we share some thoughts on the difficulty in quantifying the benefits of E-filing.

Faster WiFi Coming Soon to a Court Near You

Faster 802.11ac Wireless networks are coming.  Time to start planning.

This and That in Court Technology - November, 2014

Bananas Foster French Toast at E-Courts

Time again for news from the wide, wide world of technology for courts.

Court Case Management Systems Part 16 – Reports and Statistics

Originally, court case management systems were justified based on their ability to produce court management reports and statistics for policy makers.  They have generally achieved these goals but there is more that CCMS should be able to do.

Lucas County, Ohio Releases CMS RFP

The Lucas County Common Pleas Court is looking for a court case management system.  Responses are due by December 30, 2014 with a mandatory pre-proposal conference to be held on November 18, 2014 at the Lucas County Common Pleas Court.  A $10,000 bid bond is required.

The RFP and all relevant information is available at: http://co.lucas.oh.us/bids.aspx?bidID=487

New Options in Courtroom Displays

Since we write about technology here, it is good to think about how to display the output in our courtrooms and elsewhere in the courthouse.

More This and That in Court Technology for October, 2014

This has been an especially busy month in Court Tech.  We share what we learned in this second edition for October, 2014.

Cloud Based Adobe Connect Integration with EchoSign

Courts looking for a combined video and electronic signature solution for warrants and similar communications can now look to Adobe for a possible solution.

The Greatest Keyboard Ever Made

The legacy IBM PC/AT keyboard is fondly remembered.

This and That in Court Tech – October, 2014

This month’s news and notes from the varied world of technology in the courts, legal system, and everywhere else.

Some Thoughts on Electronic Document Navigation

Many times I hear that electronic documents are too hard to work with.  In this article we explore some ideas to help address this perceived and real problem.

US Federal Courts Data Conversion Explained

Many of you may have read about the controversy regarding some of the US Federal Courts "losing" PACER case file information.  Fortunately, the Wall Street Journal clarifies.

Jury Social Media Responsibility Poster

Our friends at the Center for Jury Studies here at the NCSC have developed a poster for Jurors on their responsibilities regarding the Internet and Social Media.  You can download a PDF copy by clicking here.

Credit Card Payment Tech - Change is coming in 2015

Three new ways of paying by credit card are coming (well, two for our international court friends).  So courts should begin planning for this conversion in 2015.

Handwritten Signatures - Now a “Punch Line” – Part 3

A new example of a fake court document highlights the failure of current "visual" document validation methods.

A Huge End of August 2014 This and That in Court Tech

Lots of news from and for our court and justice corner of the technology universe.

Court Case Management Systems Part 15: Financials – Public Requirements

Part 15:  Yes, courts have to deal with money.  And the form of money has changed in recent years (and change too, of course).  We will discuss the implications for CCMS in this edition as well as something we missed in Part 14 of our series, surcharges.

e-Courts 2014 Education Program Agenda Posted

I just signed up for the upcoming e-Courts 2014 Conference, have you?

Data Conversion = Pain

For a number of years I have tried to advise courts not to convert data from their legacy systems into their new ones.  Here are my reasons why.

A2J Author Version 5.0 Released

The NCSC is very proud to share the following announcement of the important Access 2 Justice Author toolset that was first published on the CALI website

"The Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction (CALI) and the Center for Access to Justice and Technology at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law (CAJT) will be rolled out the new version of A2J Author® for the legal aid community on Friday, August 1, 2014 at 12 noon CST."

Indiana Courts Seek Electronic Filing Manager Proposals

The Indiana Supreme Court Division of State Court Administration is releasing a Public Notice of Contracting Opportunity (PNCO) seeking proposals for an Electronic Filing Manager (EFM) and a basic Electronic Filing Service Provider (EFSP) for Indiana’s trial and appellate courts.  The PNCO is available at http://courts.in.gov/admin/3190.htm.

Division contact information is available within the PNCO document.  Responses to the PNCO are due September 15, 2014.

And BTW, nice website at http://courts.in.gov/  Congratulations.

E-Filing, E-Service News and More – July, 2014

Thanks to the LinkedIn e-Filing/e-Service of Court Documents group we learned about some new activities in this area.

Three Interesting Things

This week we share some interesting ideas that have come to our attention on Pennsylvania’s new online Dependency Benchbook, an online support calculator, and how to publish Internet Calendars with Microsoft Office Outlook.

This and That in Court Tech – July, 2014

Here is the hot and humid mid-summer news from the world of Court Tech.  We have notes about online and in-person training, courtroom technology bench configurations, New Hampshire chooses an E-filing vendor, CITOC, and an online multilingual dictionary that includes legal terms.

Montgomery County, Texas Justice Automation Program Highlighted

©2014 TexasCourthouseTrail.com - Dave Fulp

An interesting article was posted on Government Technology magazine's website (www.govtech.com), "Montgomery County Hoping to be Among First in Texas to Go to a 'Paperless' Justice System by Cindy Horswell of McClatchy News Service on July 2, 2014.

Court Case Management Systems: Financials Part 14 – Case Related Requirements

A "hi-tech" court counter

In the 14th part of our CCMS series we present Part I of our discussion regarding the case related requirements of court case financial tracking.

Texas Issues RFO for Cloud-Based CMS

The Texas Office of Court Administration (OCA) has issued a Request for Offers (RFO) for a statewide cloud-based trial court case management system.  The solicitation is available for download from the OCA's Procurement site (select the link for RFO 212-4-0672).

The OCA will host an Offeror's Conference in Austin on July 8, 2014 at 1:00 p.m. Central Time.  The deadline for submission of offers is July 25, 2014 at 3:00 p.m. Central Time.  See the RFO for more details.

US Virgin Island Courts Post Web Design RFP

The Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands is requesting the submission of bids from qualified web developers with expertise in web designing to provide website redesign services to the Court’s current website.

This and That in Court Technology – June, 2014

Time again for our compilation of news and notes from court tech and related subjects.  News about data dashboards, voice information systems, conference news, a court CCMS project contract, the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales support for court automation, and the future of handwritten signatures.

Reminder Systems for Courts

Reminding people to appear at court or to make payments has achieved solid results.  We will discuss the studies, some courts with systems, and a USA commercial service provider in this article.

Georgia Receives Springboard Certification from the IJIS Institute

The IJIS Institute announced the accomplishment of the Georgia Administrative Office of the
Courts in obtaining Springboard certification on an information sharing initiative aimed at the transmission of legal documents among court system participants.

Social Media and the Courts Survey - 2014

Icons from http://geekfairy.co.uk/

Via Press Release - Five years ago, the Conference of Court Public Information Officers (CCPIO) conducted the first national survey on how changes in the media are affecting the courts. Where are the courts now in 2014? This is your chance to help us find out.

This and That in Court Technology – End of May, 2014

See Riverside eFax article below.

News includes a state court E-filing projects status update, a USA Federal Court eVoucher system, UK courts select a new CCMS, eFax filing for indigents in Riverside, California, and Rhode Island court electronic services fees.

Philippines Judge Notes Court Automation Benefits

From the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative we learn about Judge Maria Filomena Singh of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court’s automation efforts.

Verified e-communication: A need and a possible role for courts

There are many concerns about electronic communications identity. Is there a role for courts to help to address this problem?

Document scanning an E-filing barrier? Grab the phone!

I was reading an excellent E-filing report from the New York State Unified Court System today and noticed that several problems identified in the comment section revolved around the cost for organizations to be able to scan documents.  Well, I thought to myself, let’s see if there is an app that can help?

Louisiana Supreme Court Issues RFP for Appellate Case Management System

The Pelican - State Bird of Louisiana

Today, the Supreme Court of Louisiana issued an invitation for proposals for an appellate court case management system.  The RFP is a "solutions-based" procurement that states a problem and the vendors are encouraged to respond without limitation to "creativeness of ingenuity".

The proposer's conference is set for Thursday, May 22, 2014 with the proposals due on Friday, June 20, 2014.

The RFP can be access in PDF format at:
http://www.lasc.org/RFP/Court_Modernization_RFP_4-30-2014.pdf

This and That in Court Tech – April, 2014

Time for our regular compilation of news we have heard about and related to court technology.

Court Repurposes Old iPhones for Inventory Control

We heard from our good friend Ms. Winnie Webber of the Lake County, Illinois courts about their innovative use of obsolete iPhones.

A Brief Note about Case Numbers

The format and requirements for court case numbers is different in automated systems.  I will explain.

CITOC Innovation Award Seminar

The Court Information Technology Officer Consortium (CITOC) Education Sub-Committee is pleased to host its first webinar for CITOC members in 2014.

Big Data for Courts – Identification (ID) Verification

This is the first of what we think will be many articles on how courts will use or be impacted by the concept of “Big Data”.

Registration Open for e-Courts 2014

Register to win a free suite at Red Rock Resort

Registration is now open and planning is underway for e-Courts 2014, December 8-10 at the Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas. Attending e-Courts is no gamble—register and you’re sure to gain valuable information to improve your court’s operations. But, for those of you who feel lucky, NCSC is entering everyone who registers by April 15 into a drawing for a chance to win a free suite at the Red Rock Resort for the duration of e-Courts. The strength and relevance of e-Courts’ education program and its unsurpassed exhibit show are what draws attendees to e-Courts. That hasn’t changed. But e-Courts 2014 will have a new look and a refreshed conference format—including a dynamic keynote speaker, more opportunities to network, and more time to spend with exhibitors.

Court Decisions, “Link Rot”, and Perma.cc

As defined in Wikipedia, “Link rot” is an informal term for the process by which hyperlinks (either on individual websites or the Internet in general) point to web pages, servers or other resources that have become permanently unavailable.  This has become a serious problem in legal opinions and decisions.  A consortium of law libraries is taking action by creating Perma.cc.

This and That in Court Technology – March, 2014

Yes, it’s time for another post on news and notes regarding court tech.

Court Case Management Systems Part 13 - Public Access Capability and Interface Options

Court Case Management Systems record a lot of case information for a variety of reasons. Depending on where you are, who you are, and what you are doing with the data will determine your access… maybe?

PacerPro Reviewed

The US Federal Court’s 25 year old PACER system has received an update that is called PacerPro.  Robert Ambrogi in his "Ambrogi on Tech blog" at the American Bar Association's ABAJournal describes how the system works and the benefits in his post: Service offers a better way to search federal court records than PACER.

PDF Archival Format Guidance Issued

The USA National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has released a bulletin on January 31, 2014 detailing guidance on the use of PDF for electronic archival records.

Apple's ‘iBeacon” Technology Potential for Courts

Last June at an Apple developer’s conference a new technology, "iBeacon" was quietly announced.

Watch Out for the Cryptolocker Trojan

A small law firm in North Carolina was recently locked out of their electronic files.

This and That in Court Tech – February, 2014

Time for another edition of “This and That”.  In this post we note conference and training news, an important open source software release, and a computer maintenance program to keep you and your machine working.

Signing Documents on your iPad – Update

Back in 2011 we posted a note about signing documents on your iPad.  We have an update.

The Software as a Service (SaaS) is a Trend in Court Tech

Some of you might have noticed that the CTB runs on the Google Blogger service.  Now courts are adopting SaaS too.

Court Case Management Systems Part 12: System Security

One of the primary functions of court case management systems, both manual and automated, is providing information validation and security mechanisms for court operations.  Automated CCMS can do this better and faster.  We will discuss how in this edition of our CCMS series.

US Federal Courts Issue Public Alert

Scam Emails About Phony Court Cases Carry Computer Virus

CES 2014 – Sony to the Rescue

I saw only one concept worth mentioning from this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) that was held in Las Vegas, Nevada this week that is applicable to court technology.