Per e-mail press release:
“The IJIS Institute’s Summer Briefing is right around the corner and scheduled for August 30th - September 1st, 2022, at the Omni Orlando Resort in Champions Gate, Florida. Check out the recently published agenda for additional insights on the fantastic lineup of guest speakers, critical topics to be addressed, and a comprehensive schedule that includes numerous networking opportunities for attendees. “
Click here for the full agenda (PDF)
The above-titled article posted on the GovTech website discussed some recent research of interest to courts.
“Researchers created an algorithm that predicts risks of biased, overly punitive sentencing. The tool performs with similar accuracy — and similar limits — to risk assessment algorithms already used to influence pretrial and parole decisions, authors say.
Following the recent Cyber Monday series of workshops hosted by the Joint Technology Committee (JTC), the IJIS Courts Advisory Committee (ICAC) is offering a chance to engage with the experts in an extended Q&A forum. Participants will hear from numerous professionals with first-hand knowledge and experiences and also be encouraged to participate in an open discussion with a chance to drill down in more detail than the usual presentation format.
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| Judge Scott U. Schlegel, 24th Judicial District Court for the Parish of Jefferson, Louisiana |
Featured Speaker | Using Low/No-Code Tech to Improve Workflows at eCourts 2022 Conference, December 5-7.
As the saying goes, “insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” He didn’t coin that phrase, but Judge Scott Schlegel of Louisiana is coming to set us straight. He will open the second day of eCourts with a presentation focused on how he uses off-the-shelf software to revolutionize the justice system. “It’s absurd how many continuances are filed just because nobody called opposing counsel to make sure it was okay with her calendar,” says Judge Schlegel.
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| https://pxhere.com/en/photo/1609073 |
It was announced regarding Nevada RFP 22-01: Request for Proposal (RFP) for a Statewide Case Management System that the RFP has been re-opened for bidding.
Several of the RFP’s requirements were amended, resulting in a revised MSA, new Service Level Agreement, updated evaluation criteria, updated technical specifications table, and an adjusted timeline. The revised MSA includes clauses related to cybersecurity compliance and data escrow. The updated evaluation criteria also weigh price more heavily.
An Offerors Conference will be held on Wednesday, July 13th, from 8:30 – 11:00 am PST
Please contact Justin Bell, Grants and Contracts Officer at the Supreme Court of Nevada Administrative Office of the Courts here if you would like to attend.
Additional details can be found here: Procurements (nvcourts.gov)
The Administrative Office of the Courts is issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP) to redesign the website of the New Mexico Judiciary (www.nmcourts.gov). The redesign should produce an easy-to-navigate website to help the public conduct business with courts statewide and provide information about court services and operations to website users.
To receive the RFP packet, contact Kerry Armour at (505) 412-9163 at the Administrative Office of the Courts, 202 East Marcy Street, Santa Fe, NM 87501 or check the NM Courts website at nmcourts.gov/court-administration/request-for-proposals . RFP packets will not be faxed. Proposals must be received by Aug. 1, 2022, 3:00 p.m. MDT. The Procurement Code, Sections 13-1-1 to 13-1-199 (NMSA 1978), imposes civil and criminal penalties for its violation. In addition, the New Mexico criminal statutes impose felony penalties for illegal bribes, gratuities, and kickbacks.
This one-year project will provide state and local courts an opportunity to learn from and improve upon pandemic-era best practices and to create permanent changes to their hearing practices. Grants will be awarded to 10 to 20 jurisdictions to support the cost of technology equipment and installation of the equipment in at least one courtroom in the jurisdiction, integration with existing systems (when appropriate) and technical assistance to support preliminary operation of the equipment. Additionally, NCSC staff will evaluate the utility of the technology and impact on hearing participants.
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| Photo by mohamed hassan from PxHere |
Courts everywhere should check out the Court Forms Online MassAccess project that was created and maintained by the Document Assembly Line Project at the Suffolk Law’s Legal Innovation and Technology Lab in cooperation with the Massachusetts Access to Justice Commission’s COVID-19 task force. But before we go further… the code tool sets are available online for free! More…
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| Image use rights from PXhere.com https://bit.ly/3lF5uAx |
Our favorite fans of film noir, NCSC Tiny Chatters DanielHirsch and Zach Zarnow brought to our attention the virtual court counter, in the Michigan District Court 54B.
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| https://bit.ly/3LkoBKz |
A report on the results of “The Court Appearance Project” in North Carolina was released recently.
“The Court Appearance Project launched in August of 2021 to support local North Carolina criminal justice system leaders committed to examining the scale and impact of missed court appearances in their communities and devising policy solutions to address them. New Hanover, Orange, and Robeson Counties were selected from a diverse pool of applicants, based on the collective commitment of local practitioners and their ideas and momentum for improving policies. Teams were comprised of stakeholders from across the justice system, including the senior resident superior court judge; chief district court judge; representatives from the offices of the district attorney, public defender, clerk, and sheriff; and others.
With technical assistance support from The Pew Charitable Trusts and the University of North Carolina (UNC) School of Government Criminal Justice Innovation Lab,3 the teams met over several months to review findings from the court and jail data, evaluate the available research, and examples of innovation, and develop consensus local solutions. Relying on their combined expertise and the findings from the data, each county team crafted policy solutions that they believed would deliver a high impact in their courts and communities.3 To contact project staff, please reach out to Jessica Smith, Director of the Criminal Justice Innovation Lab, at smithj@sog.unc.edu, and Terry Schuster, Manager of Pew’s Public Safety Performance Project, at tschuster@pewtrust.org.
In brief, here are some findings from the project:
It is worthwhile to read the entire report to learn about the impact of nonappearance on the public and the justice system and the project's recommendations (including the use of text reminders). It is available in full as a PDF download at:
As we have been sifting through session proposals and ideas for how to make a great conference, we realized the conference theme is obvious: We have all been living The Great Shift.
The Great Shift has so many facets:
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| From Microsoft Stock Images |
Over two decades ago our NCSC Jury Studies pioneer, Tom Munsterman, ran the WordPerfect word processor language level test against some jury instructions. He told me it reported that the reading level needed to understand the instructions were university graduate school. So, when an article identifying “ways that lawyers could make their written documents easier for the average person to read” was posted by MIT, I thought it was time to revisit the subject?
Thursday, April 14th, 2022 03:00 pm - 04:30 pm
Join five leading NCSC experts for a 60-minute briefing that will distill recent NCSC research on remote hearings. Panelists will draw on new studies—from analyzing judicial time in Texas to considerations in child welfare cases to judicially led diversion programs—to summarize critical “aha!” moments about remote proceedings. The speakers will draw together what NCSC is learning about where remote proceedings make sense, where challenges may exist and what lessons can be drawn from the research to date.
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| Tiny Chat fun is one subject this month |
Apple launches the first smartphone driver’s license/ID with
Arizona
Additional states to follow, including Colorado, Hawaii,
Mississippi, Ohio, and the territory of Puerto Rico
When? March 28, 2022 from 3:00 to 4:00 PM EDT
Unlike webinars, cyberattacks don’t happen on a schedule. That’s why you should carve out some time now to prepare for the unexpected. Join leaders from the Joint Technology Committee (JTC) for the second in a series of webinars that will get you ready should your court suffer a data breach or a ransomware attack. Take advantage of this series to get prepared, and plan as if an attack is inevitable.
From the US Federal Court News on March 8, 2022.
“On March 3, the Clerk’s Office" for the Court of Appeals Federal Circuit in Washington DC was recognized for its innovation when it received an award and certification from the American Society for Quality (ASQ) Government Division, an organization that objectively evaluates the quality of government operations.”
Our Clerk’s Office is the first government entity to achieve this certification, which makes it the standard which other government organizations, especially other court offices, can look to as the benchmark for exceptional performance,” said Chief Judge Kimberly A. Moore, of the Federal Circuit. “We take great pride in the accomplishments of our Clerk’s Office”
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| © 2007 Larry D. Moore. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 https://bit.ly/343Giyq |
A couple of weeks back we learned that retired Texas District Court Judge James Mehaffy, Jr. had passed away.
I had the honor of knowing and working with the Judge and visiting his court in Beaumont, Texas. In the early 1990’s the NCSC had both the Court Technology Laboratory and Courtroom 21 projects running in Williamsburg. Judge Mehaffy brought a team from his court that was planning on how to deal with a very large and complex series of civil trials. At the time the plan was to convert the jury assembly room of the courthouse into a courtroom to handle the large number of lawyers who would be present.
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| Slow and steady wins the court tech race |
This post includes news about court text messaging in Colorado, a TurboCourt anniversary, nine justice reform programs to review, some free court subject public service announcements, a study on remote hearings costs and benefits, and innovations from the HiiL Demo Day 2022.
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| https://bit.ly/3gSQTyQ |
The Nevada Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC), a judicial branch department that assists the Supreme Court of Nevada with the administration of the Nevada courts, invites submissions of offers for systems and services for a statewide cloud‐based, COTS electronic filing system, a document access system, a redaction component, and a forms assembly solution (“eFiling system” or “Solution”). (Master Services Agreement to follow later)
This webinar is set for Monday, February 28 - 3–4 p.m. EST
Did you know that the average cost of recovery from a cybersecurity incident is close to $4 million? If your court has security staff and a magnetometer— but doesn’t have a cybersecurity incident response team—our Cyber Monday webinar series is for you!
Join leaders from the Joint Technology Committee (JTC) for its first Cyber Monday webinar series on Feb. 28. You'll learn about CCJ/COSCA's recently adopted resolution and concrete action steps to address cybersecurity risks. You'll also hear how court leaders in Texas and Alaska dealt with their own cyberattacks.
This year's eCourts will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada, December 5-7 at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino.
We are reaching out to the court community to identify session ideas that highlight progress and innovation and that will encourage teams of administrators, technologists, and judges to attend.
As most of you already know much of the "big technology news" for the first part of 2022 has been the announcements around "the metaverse".
While it is fun in many gaming situations, I think there is also a possibility of using it effectively in courtroom evidence presentations in the future. We discuss below how some versions might be useful in the courtroom.
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| Image by Brad Stallcup https://stocksnap.io |
This month we have news about Chromebook price drops, Trinidad and Tobago’s new court electronic practice directions, Illinois state courts new electronic device policy, a new ODR system provided by the Los Angeles County courts, the England and Wales judiciary taking a new data-driven strategy approach, an article on “How to Create Access-to-Justice Tech for Courts That People Will Actually Use” and the latest from our Tiny Chat team.
Thanks to a tweet from attorney Mark C. Palmer we learned today about this Minnesota project that started last year.
The project issued the following press release on May 3, 2021.
When? Thursday, January 20, 3:00 pm ET
Addressing the digital divide. Communicating scheduling changes. Providing legal information in layman’s terms on court websites. Managing the waiting room. Since the start of the pandemic, courts across the country have adapted their processes to allow for remote and virtual proceedings. Join us for the next discussion in a series of webinars focused on best practices for engaging with attorneys and self-represented litigants in remote and virtual hearings.
With news that jury trials are being delayed once again due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it is useful to resurrect some early court technology used by the Erie County Common Pleas Court, General Division in Sandusky, Ohio from the '70s and later.
The following is a report that my NCSC colleagues, Peggy A.
Walsh and Kevin P. Kilpatrick, Staff Associate published as part of the Court Technology Reports, 1990 publication available in PDF in our Library eCollection here.
If you read this article, please remember that this was done
in the time of analog (meaning tape) recording media and way before the internet
was generally available to the public and the courts. It is much easier to
accomplish this in 2022 and therefore the core concepts are worth considering and updating as another
potential tool for court trials.
