E-Ink Devices Growing Larger

Court technologists are watching with interest the introduction of the larger format Kindle DX device from Amazon.com for $489.  The new larger screen DX model sports a 2.5 larger display than the original Kindle models.  In addition, the new system has improved PDF document support.  A couple of interesting reviews were posted on the Wired.com and Engaget with video websites.

Pinellas County Florida releases RFP

Pinellas County, Florida  has released Request for Proposal RFP 089-0408-PJL for the purchase of a Consolidated Justice Case Management System.  A copy of this RFP can be obtained by visiting the Pinellas County Government website http://www.pinellascounty.org/purchase.  On the left side of the page, please click on Current Bids, and then scroll until you find the Consolidated Justice Case Management System RFP.  Questions pertaining to this RFP can be submitted via email to: jlauro@pinellascounty.org.

King County Electronic Court Records System Video

A very nice video showing the King County Electronic Court Records system was posted in early 2009 by the Harvard University Ash Institute on YouTube.  Some great folks from their court including Barbara Miner and Roger Winters are interviewed along with many judges discussing the challenges and benefits of the system

US Federal Courts Look to the Future

The May, 2009 edition of the US Federal Courts The Third Branch newsletter contains an article titled: Looking for the Next Generation of the CM/ECF System.  The article begins:

Over the past decade the federal Judiciary’s Case Management/Electronic Case Files CM/ECF system has dramatically streamlined and simplified federal court case filing, management, and access. Now, a group of federal judges and court staff is thinking about the future of that system and asking: “If we could change CM/ECF in any way, what would we want the Next Generation system to look like?

As the most successful implementation of a combined court case and document management system in the country, courts everywhere will all be interested in their plans.

Technology Projects Gone Wrong

Technology projects face all manner of difficulties.  Recently, Baseline magazine published an excellent article on Projects Gone Wrong.  We in the courts can learn from these troubled and failed projects both in government and by the private sector.

State Legislatures Budget Map

The National Conference of State Legislatures has posted an excellent interactive map of the budget gap experiences as a result of the economic downturn on the various states.  They have also linked a web page on the issue.

New IJIS Blog

A good friend of the NCSC, Mr. Paul Wormeli who is the Executive Director of the IJIS Institute has started a new blog on innovative information technologies and how they apply to justice information sharing and related topics.  He states in his introductory e-mail that:

"We are engaged as a nation in such a radical transformation of the role of IT in government that we need a place to provoke discussion and dialog about how information technology can be used to create useful social outcomes, particularly as it applies to the fields of justice, public safety and homeland security. We also need to ponder how innovative new information technologies, particularly those that might be classed as disruptive, can be explained and presented to the stakeholders in government and industry and therefore applied to practical purpose."

Virginia Institutes Mandatory Videoconferencing

Last week during our visit to the courts in Campbell County, Virginia we learned that in the 2009 session the General Assembly of Virginia amended the law to mandate use of videoconferencing by the state's District Courts.  The bill, H-2108, signed on February 25, 2009 states:

"If two-way electronic video and audio communication is available for use by a district court for the conduct of a hearing to determine bail or to determine representation by counsel, the court shall use such communication in any such proceeding that would otherwise require the transportation of a person from outside the jurisdiction of the court in order to appear in person before the court."

The statute previously permitted documents to be sent electronically and signatures treated as original signatures.

NIEM Tools

The April 2009 of the NIEM National Information Exchange Model Newsletter contains the article: NIEM Tools: An In-Depth Look by Marc Clifton.  In the article Mr. Clifton highlights the various software design tools that have been made available by the project. Tools discussed in the article are:

•      Search and navigate NIEM part of the Subset Schema Generation Tool SSGT.
•      Build Schema Subset using SSGT.
•      Map Information Exchange.
•      Work With Information Exchange Package Documents IEPDs.
•      Generate Code List Schemas.
•      Obtain Migration Assistance.

Israel CMS studied

We recently stumbled across an interesting article by Prof. Orna Rabinovich-Einy that was published in the Spring 2008 issue of the UCLA Journal of Law and Technology titled: Beyond Efficiency: The Transformation of Courts Through Technology PDF link. The paper notes that while technological advances have benefited the court system, procedural changes are also needed.  The paper also notes that the Israel system has a service where attorneys can sign up for a secure government/court supplied E-mail address for $30 for three years as a means to improve security and communications.