NCSC partners with HackerNest for CourtHack Hackathon

News about CTC and the upcoming NCSC CourtHack competition from Troy Burke at Extract Systems.

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Reprinted by permission by Troy Burke from his blog, September 29, 2015 5:50:05 PM

I attended my fifth Court Technology Conference (CTC) in Minneapolis, MN this past week. The educational track that resonated with me was How IT Can Design and Deliver Solutions to Create a High Performance Court. Here is a quote from the session description that really sums up the state of technology in the courts:

“There is a wave of technological change happening, and it is happening very fast—far too fast for many courts to keep pace with. Most people are using technology in their private lives that is more sophisticated than what they use at the office. Likewise, court “customers” are increasingly more tech-savvy and expect the court to provide services “online” instead of “inline.” Yet many courts still view their court technologists as simply “order takers” who execute against their vision.”

The land of 10,000 lakes seemed like a fitting location to talk about the “wave” of technology. The waters can often be choppy when implementing change – whether technological or not. Having a solid vessel and charting a proper course is critical as courts embark on this new journey. The National Center is the vessel, but charting the proper course will require more effort. To help navigate these challenging waters NCSC, and HackerNest, will be hosting one of the first-ever hackathons for the courts. CourtHack is November 13th through the 15th in Salt Lake City, UT.

The event will kick-off with a “Voice from the Field” panel discussion which will bring together experts from the legal community to share experiences and challenges they face on a day-to-day basis. Participants can pitch ideas, join a team, or recruit teams for their ideas.

On Saturday, November 14th roughly 100 participants will form teams to compete in a 30-hour hackathon. At the end of the weekend teams will have prototype solutions shortening the time for court improvements from years to weeks. Teams will be competing for cash and non-cash prizes, the opportunity to interact with industry leaders, and a spot to demo their solution at a major court technology conference. If interested, please contact Paul Embley at the NCSC.