Problems and Solutions for Court Videoconferencing

A BuzzFeed News article brought to our attention a report done on the use of videoconferencing in the Courts of the United Kingdom and Wales.  We share some notes from the articles and discuss our potential technology solutions and other resources below.

LegalXML Electronic Court Filing Specification 5.0 Draft Announced

In the first major update since 2013, the Oasis-Open LegalXML Electronic Court Filing (ECF) Technical Committee has announced version 5 for sixty-day public review.  Since the standard is the most widely used electronic filing standard, this is a significant advancement. 

More below…

NCSC Releases New Report on Court Privacy Policy

A State Justice Institute supported report, “Best Practices for Court Privacy Policy Formulation” authored by three of our NCSC colleagues, Tom Clarke, Jannet Lewis and Di Graski has just been released.  The report begins:

"As state and local courts progressively convert their business processes from paper to electronic formats, policies around remote electronic access to court case information by the public become ever more important.  COSCA last addressed this issue comprehensively in 2002 with a report authored by Martha Steketee and Alan Carlson that proposed a model policy for public access.  At that time, few courts had implemented electronic filing, so the model policy addressed both manual and electronic access.  In the fifteen years since then, courts have learned a lot about living in an electronic world and providing remote access to their case data and documents.  Consequently, there is a need to update what we know about this topic and revise the model policy."

August 31, 2017 revision -- click here to access the updated paper. 

Time is running out - register now for the 2017 Court Industry Summit

If you are a solution provider to courts, you don't want to miss this opportunity to have an open and candid dialog with thought leaders from the judicial branch and your private-sector peers.

This event will be hosted by the NCSC and facilitated by the IJIS Institute's Courts Advisory Committee. Organizations who are members of IJIS receive a registration discount.

Topics will include technology trends, disruptors, and next-generation court technology standards with perspectives from leaders in federal, state and local courts. You and your industry peers will also have the opportunity to share your perspectives on trends and technologies courts should be considering.

The summit will be held April 19-20 at the Princeton Marriott at Forrestal in Princeton, NJ. For more information and to register, go to http://www.ncsc.org/Conferences-and-Events/Industry-Summit-2017.aspx.

Today (March 29) is the last day to get the group rate at the hotel - go here to make your reservations.

Trusted Digital Signatures

Our good friend Patrick Cormier, former CEO of the Canadian Centre for Court Technology, now Vice President for Business Development at Notarius wrote a great piece on Digital Signatures that he has allowed us to re-post below.  I think you will find it interesting...

“Managing Digital Evidence in Courts”

The COSCA/NACM Joint Technology Committee has issued a new report: “Managing Digital Evidence in Courts”.  The report identifies potential challenges and recommends steps courts should consider when receiving, evaluating, protecting, and presenting digital evidence, including video from body-worn cameras, private citizens, and other sources.

Click here to view and download the report.

User Interface Changes – Are They Worth It?

I read a terrific blog post last month regarding the problems that result when websites or computer applications change their user interfaces.  We discuss below.

This and That in Court Technology – June, 2015

Time for another “This and That” roundup of court technology news.

Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) Data Exchange Working Group Reports Draft Standard

NCSC Principal Court Management Consultant, Dale Kasparek shares work that is ongoing in support of court compliance of CDL disposition reporting via data exchange and more in today’s CTB post

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.

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.

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.

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.

This and That in Court Tech – December, 2013

Big news on credit card fees and much more in a busy month of announcements.

This and That in Court Tech – November, 2013

Time for another “This and That” post…

Making the Record: Utilizing Digital Electronic Recording Paper Released

My good friend, former Vermont State Court Administrator, Lee Suskin and I have been busy this year working with the digital electronic recording industry to write the above titled report that is now available.  Click here to download a PDF copy of the paper.

SEARCH Group Announces Grant Program

The National Consortium for Justice Information and Statistics has announced the "Justice Information Exchange Implementation Project Competitive Award" program.

LegalXML Electronic Court Filing Video and News

Following the recent CTC-2013 Conference the Oasis-OpenLegalXML Electronic Court Filing TC met.  Here are some of the highlights:

Arizona Traffic Ticket and Complaint e-Citation Program

The Arizona Courts have developed a program to support the use of e-Citation systems in the state. The program manager explains their system, approach, and benefits.

Court Case Management Systems Part 10: Documents

Courts produce documents…lots of documents.  So Court Case Management Systems (CCMS) should help to produce and manage them.