Data Visualization

Graphic from Wikipedia.org

An area of automation that the courts have generally ignored has been data visualization.  While my colleague, Dr. Ingo Keilitz has worked for many years on digital dashboard concepts, there is a lot that can be done.

One excellent example was posted by the authors at Computational Legal Studies  that presents "The Development of Structure in the Citation Network of the United States Supreme Court".  This two minute online video of a growing "network diagram" representing the early relationship of cases is fascinating.

Maricopa County ICJIS Director Job Announcement

We received the following message yesterday to pass along to our community:

Maricopa County (located in Phoenix, AZ) has an outstanding career opportunity for ICJIS (Integrated Criminal Justice Information System) Director.  The successful candidate will establish and oversee a project management agency to coordinate the planning, development, implementation and maintenance of and ICJIS system for Maricopa County.  Salary range: $101,296 - $157,019/Yr.

Job Posting/Online Application - http://agency.governmentjobs.com/maricopa/default.cfm?action=viewJob&jobID=400409

Benefits Overview - http://www.maricopa.gov/benefits/pdf/benefitsoverview.pdf

Mobile Legal Services

Our good friends at Cornell University Law School Legal Information Institute (via Rob Richards) posted a very interesting article on December 22, 2011 regarding the potential for the use of mobile telephone messaging/SMS for legal services.  The author, Sean Martin McDonald (founder of frontlinesms.com), argues that the ubiquity of mobile telephones provides great potential for many legal services including legal client intake and referral, client and case management.  And I would add training and document verification as other possibilities.

Bridging "the last mile" between the clients and legal services (including courts) are important.  The author concludes the article with the following:

"I don’t think any of this will square me with my property-law professor.  I’m not sure I’ll ever fix property law.  But I do think that by reaching out to new populations using the technologies in their pockets, we can make a difference in the way people interact with the law. And even if that’s just a little bit, even if it just enables one percent more people to protect their homes, start a business, or pursue a better life, isn’t that worth it?"

Hear, hear!

Hey US Postal Service - The Courts Need This!

We're all back at work at the NCSC and want to first wish everyone a good and productive 2012.

Over the break we heard of several services offered by the Postal Service in Switzerland that would be extremely useful to the US Courts.

The first service is called IncaMail (PDF document link) that provides secure encrypted e-mail.  An interesting aspect is that "during the initial (first time) registration, both the e-mail address and the physical address of the user are verified by sending an activation code."

The Twelve Days of Court Tech

With attribution to the original "Twelve Days of Christmas" and song; and thanks to my good friend Ken Lobenstein who authored this, the CTB presents: "The Twelve Days of Court Tech" for the holiday season.

The Evolving World of Case Management: Taming the Unpredictable

Case management systems are not only for courts.  The concepts are being used in many industries including insurance, health care, and even airport management systems.

US Federal Courts Internet Education/Training Offered

The November, 2011 edition of The Third Branch federal courts newsletter contains articles on three new internet services.

The first article announces that the judiciary has created "a free-of-charge website the offers training for the federal Judiciary's Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) service."

The article continues: "The site, which launched in mid-September, features data from real cases in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York filed over a six-month period in 2007. The training site can be accessed via “What’s New With PACER” on the PACER website home page, www.pacer.gov."

A second article "Contemporary Issues Teach Teens about Federal Court System" describes an eduction website that"is offering several new courtroom simulations for use by high school teachers and federal courts that address contemporary issues and teen-related situations. They also teach students about the importance of jury deliberations and the relevance of the federal court system to their lives.

Two recently added simulations deal with Miranda warnings and counter-protests at funerals. Others deal with the legal conflicts arising from social media, texting while driving, teen house parties, and student protests. The simulations are available, with videos, podcasts, and interactive tools on-line at www.uscourts.gov/EducationalResources.aspx that are ready for immediate classroom and courtroom use."

And last, there is a quick note regarding an online series of podcasts on "landmark" cases.  The note states that "(e)ach episode explores a different landmark case as a law professor discusses the case’s background, key arguments, and the decision.

New episodes will be available each month at uscourts.gov/landmarks."

PDF Isn't Permanent.

Recently I received an E-mail solicitation for a product called PDF Security Removal.  As many of you know, there are settings that work with Adobe Reader that supposedly keep a PDF document from being printed or saved.  So one more "advantage" of PDF electronic documents to serve as the permenant case file record is now obsolete.

The Electronic Judicial Bench

Hon. Chief Judge Lee E. Hayworth

In an earlier CTB article I wrote about the need for E-filing systems to focus upon the needs of the judiciary in the transition from a paper to electronic environment.  But as usually happens, a court has already made this occur.

Starting in 2009, the judges of the 12th Judicial Circuit of Florida working in conjunction with the Clerk of Court in Manatee County created a system "designed for judges, by judges".

Lots of IJIS Institute Announcements

Many announcements from the IJIS Institute:
Announcement 1:

NEW Information Sharing LinkedIN Group
Please join the IJIS Institute’s new LinkedIN Group:  Justice & Public Safety Information Sharing.  The Group is a technology forum for practitioners and industry from the state, local, and tribal justice and public safety communities.  The forum encourages organizations and individuals to share information about cross-agency, cross-jurisdictional, and cross-sector information sharing.  Participants will  discuss and share information on technology and standards to facilitate and assist one another to achieve information sharing.  In just three weeks, 376 of your industry colleagues from across the country have joined the information sharing discussion.