Court Technology Bulletin

Friday, December 11, 2009

NCSC and HHS Collaborate on NIEM Messages

The November, 2009 NIEM Newsletter contains an article on the joint NCSC and US Department of Health and Human services development of data exchange templates for:

Juvenile Petition
Adjudication Order
Service Plan
Court Report

The article notes that:

A field test in Vermont has revealed that the template can accommodate an overwhelming percentage of use cases without modification.

More E-Reader News and Reviews

Because judges in particular spend inordinate amount of their time reading, we are following developments for E-Readers. First, a couple of new tech readers/pads are being released. The first example is the new Barnes and Noble “Nook” reader. Reviews have been posted first at Technologizer.com and later at Engaget.com

A second recent announcement regards the device formerly known as the CrunchPad. It has been renamed the JooJoo magic. Here is an article about the announcement with some pictures. (1/11 note: this device ultimately did not enter the market)

And finally, an October, 2009 run-down of the various e-Reader options by Technologizer.com can be found at:
http://technologizer.com/2009/10/26/the-e-reader-explosion-a-cheat-sheet/

Friday, December 4, 2009

Flash Cookies

Earlier this week I learned of another privacy issue of using your browser on the Internet. They are generically called, Flash Cookies, but technically known as a Local Share Object. These Flash Cookies are not controlled by the browser cookie controls and will continue to build up in ones system.

Bruce Schneier explains:

"Unlike traditional browser cookies, Flash cookies are relatively unknown to web users, and they are not controlled through the cookie privacy controls in a browser. That means even if a user thinks they have cleared their computer of tracking objects, they most likely have not.

What’s even sneakier?

Several services even use the surreptitious data storage to reinstate traditional cookies that a user deleted, which is called re-spawning in homage to video games where zombies come back to life even after being "killed," the report found. So even if a user gets rid of a website’s tracking cookie, that cookie’s unique ID will be assigned back to a new cookie again using the Flash data as the "backup.""

For detailed information see The Electronic Privacy Information Center web page on the subject at:
http://epic.org/privacy/cookies/flash.html

I have been testing a program called, humourously enough, Cookinator. Seems to be doing a lot of cleaning when I use it and so far have not had any resulting system problems.

Information on the free free Cookienator program can be found at: http://codefromthe70s.org/cookienator.aspx

(January, 2011 note - we have had excellent success with the C-Cleaner program for this problem)

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

7th Conference on Privacy and Public Access to Court Records Announced

The Center for Legal and Court Technology and the NCSC with assistance from the Administrative Office of the US Courts announces the 7th Conference on Privacy and Public Access to Court Records. The conference will be held on March 4 and 5, 2010 in Williamsburg, Virginia. Announce agenda topics include:

Where Have We Been and Where Are We Going: A Decade of Court Public Access and Privacy Policy Development
Court Public Access Policy Implementation: Recent Developments
Emerging Issues in E-filing and Privacy
Bulk Data: Latest Trends
New Media in the Courtroom and at the Courthouse: Texts, Tweets & Blogs, Oh My!
Privacy and the Public Record: The Big Picture Debate
Public Electronic Access to Federal Court Records “PACER”: New Initiatives, New Challenges

The conference fee is $225.00 with an optional conference dinner priced at $50.

For more information email medalt@wm.edu or ccvaug@wm.edu or phone the CLCT at: 757-221-2494

Thursday, November 19, 2009

More iPods for Bailiffs and Lawyers too

Back on September 10th I posted an article here on the potential for equipping court bailiffs with iPods. This week I received a catalog from the Creston company that supplies control systems used in many courtrooms. I was pleasantly surprised to find an iPod/iPhone Crestron-Mobile-Pro app that lets one create an interface to the control system similar to their custom touch control units. Click on the link to read more about the app and see screen examples.

And while I was on the subject I decided to do a search for iPhone apps for lawyers. I found a great webpage titled Our Favorite iPhone Apps for Lawyers that was written following the Spring 2009 American Bar Association TechShow.

It is said that this is where all the technology action is currently. This is evidence that it is now making an impact on the courts and legal system.

Friday, November 13, 2009

IJIS releases NIEM Conformance guidance for RFPs

On October 30, the IJIS institute announced the NIEM Conformance for RFPs. The document states that:

"It is intended to be a resource for public safety practitioners who are making decisions with regard to procurement for public safety computer systems that have, or may in the future have, information sharing requirements with other systems. The goal is to help ensure RFPs meet federal grant requirements and national best practices for information sharing, and to provide help in understanding the technology standards and how they relate to product selection. The National Information Exchange Model NIEM, which is most often included in U.S. Department of Justice DOJ and U.S. Department of Homeland Security DHS grant requirements, is a national approach and common vocabulary for information exchange."

"NIEM Conformance for RFPs was developed by the IJIS Institute’s Public Safety Technical Standards Committee IPSTSC and is available online:

http://www.ijis.org/docs/NIEM_Conformance_for_RFP_20091028.pdf

Monday, November 9, 2009

Ergonomic Mouse Helps

Since early summer your CTB editor has been experiencing hand pain in the tendon connected to the index finger. After trying different treatment methods including rest, massage, heat, cold, the pain always returned. Finally today I decided that enough was enough and researched various ergonomic mouse options. After some online research I narrowed the choices down to two, the Microsoft Natural Wireless Laser Mouse 6000 and the Logitech Performance Mouse MX Both seemed to do the job of turning the wrist/finger position from a parallel to the table surfact to a more natural tilted position please see the two websites for photos to see what this means. So off to the store to try them out and I came back with the Microsoft version. And I must report that there was immediate pain relief. Of course time will tell if this is a solution, but so far, so good.

Friday, October 30, 2009

Dallas County Texas Courts Moving to Electronic Files

According to an article, Dallas County courts moving to all-electronic filing published on October 11, 2009 on DallasNews.com, that the Dallas County, Texas District Clerks Office is:

"Converting files for the county criminal, family and civil cases to electronic form and destroying the old-fashioned versions."

The article further notes that:

"Seventeen district clerk employees spent a combined 250 hours scanning thousands of documents in Magnis court over an August weekend."

And in the sidebar - Going Paperless: By the Numbers the article states two significant facts:

75 percent: Amount of requested files from the clerks office that are from the last two years

Jan. 1, 2010: The date Dallas County new criminal cases will no longer generate paper files

Thursday, October 22, 2009

US Federal Courts Move Forward on Automation

On October 9, 2009 the US Federal Courts newsroom website noted the many accomplishments achieved by the CM/ECF system. The release states:

The federal judiciary's Case Management/Electronic Case Files CM/ECF project revolutionized the way in which the federal courts manage their cases and documents. This easy-to-use system allows attorneys to file documents directly with the court over the Internet and allows courts to file, store, and manage their case files in an easy-to-access, transparent way.

The September, 2009 edition of The Third Branch Newsletter also contained two articles of interest. The first, Electronic Public Access Program/PACER Assessment Begun, notes:

The Judiciary’s Electronic Public Access Program is looking for user input. The program, which recently celebrated its one-millionth Public Access to Court Electronic Records PACER subscriber, has launched a year-long, comprehensive assessment to identify potential enhancements to existing and new public access services.

The newsletter also contained an article titled: "Reminder to Redact". As most everyone who works with electronic document information is aware, redaction of sensitive private information is critical. The article describes the Federal Courts approach to the issue. It begins:

"Attorneys using the Judiciary’s Case Management/Electronic Case Files CM/ECF system will find they must acknowledge a reminder to redact private information from documents before they access the system. It is part of the Judiciary’s on-going effort to protect privacy in publicly accessible court records by reminding attorneys that it is their responsibility to comply with redaction rules."

"A message is displayed when an attorney logs in to CM/ECF. The attorney is required to check a box on the last line of the reminder to show they have read it. The message also provides links to the Federal Rules regarding redaction. In addition, another reminder message has been added to the screen where the attorney finalizes submission of the filed document. The message asks: 'Have you redacted?'”

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

OASIS LegalXML Offers E-Filing Technical Assistance

The OASIS LegalXML Electronic Court Filing ECF Technical Committee has some limited free yes, free! technical assistance available for courts and vendors interested in implementing electronic filing. The goal of the LegalXML ECF is to create XML based message standards for the transmission of legal documents with the courts; and the latest ECF 4.0 specification is fully conformant with the NIEM and web services standards.

To read more about the work of the ECF go to their webpage at:

http://www.oasis-open.org/committees/tc_home.php?wg_abbrev=legalxml-courtfiling

To request technical assistance you may contact Jim Cabral at: JCabral@mtgmc.com

Monday, October 12, 2009

NCSC E-Filing Survey Results Posted

The results of the 2009 National Center for State Courts electronic court filing survey have been posted online.

The website contains an interactive Google Map that shows the locations of courts who responded to the survey with links to their answers. The survey is the most comprehensive to date and contains more than 100 courts and court systems.

Some interesting survey results were found. Among the results it was found that funding and IT staff resources are seen as the most significant barrier to E-filing implementation. Since E-filing must be integrated into the courts case and document management workflow, the time and effort to do this has been difficult for courts to absorb in these difficult financial times. But the survey also found that once E-filing has been implemented in the courts, it works. Courts responded that 100 percent of various case types have been E-filed successfully.

Another significant finding is that while courts have not transitioned to electronic format as their official record, many are in transition. And while courts are continuing to required clerk review of all electronically submitted documents, half are allowing case initiation via E-filing.

Other findings include:

Service of Process still being done by physical mail
Redaction of sensitive information by the courts is mixed
Sealed documents are submitted primarily in hard copy
Evidence is submitted both electronically and hard copy
E-filed documents are not available online
PDF is by far the most popular document type filed
If XML is used by the E-filing system, it is the LegalXML 1.x version

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Jury Instruction Videos Available Online

Recently we became aware that two terrific jury instruction videos from the New Mexico and Oregon state judicial systems have been made available online. The New Mexico video can be viewed via Internet streaming technology at:

http://www.nmcourts.gov/juryvideolinks.html

The Oregon jury instruction video can be downloaded in both Windows Media and Flash formats at:

http://courts.oregon.gov/Multnomah/General_Info/Jury_Service/Juror_Orientation_Video.page?

Thursday, October 1, 2009

2009 NIEM National Training Event Sessions Available Online

Most of the NCSC technology staff are in Baltimore, Maryland this week speaking and participating in the 2009 NIEM National Training Event http://www.niem.gov.

On September 30, 2009 the NIEM staff released this message:

"During these difficult economic times the NIEM Program recognizes the challenges facing many NIEM stakeholders and to accommodate those that were unable to attend the NIEM National Training Event, we will be broadcasting live the keynote presentations at the event.

Additionally, the breakout training sessions taking place at this event will be captured and the audio and slideshow presentations will be available for playback shortly after the conclusion of the Training Event.

These valuable resources will be available via the link included below or via the NIEM Web site http://www.niem.gov/ ."

Thursday, September 24, 2009

CTC-2009 Education Session Videos Available

The NCSC has video recorded many sessions from the CTC-2009 conference and made them available via the Internet to the court community. Sessions include NPR reporter Ari Shapiro's keynote speech, Super Sessions from the Alabama Courts on their E-everything attitude, and the Korean Courts integrated system. You can see the selection of available sessions at: http://www.icmelearning.com/ctc/

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

CTC-2009 - Denver, Colorado - September 22-24

We are looking forward to seeing many of you in Denver next week at CTC-2009. Watch the conference website for important announcements. And if you can't make it this year, plan on attending our E-Courts Conference in December, 2010.

The New NCSC Website

On September 16, 2009, National Center for State Courts Vice President for External Affairs, Jesse Rutledge announced the inauguration of the organizations new website at http://www.ncsc.org/

Thursday, September 10, 2009

iPods for Bailiffs?

Earlier this year, while working on a courthouse project, our NCSC team had a discussion about technology for an essential courthouse employee, the Bailiff. Now the Bailiff position is one that is critical for the orderly operation of the courtroom and a vital part of the judge’s team. But, the Bailiff’s job does not seem to have been impacted by technology advances. So that got us thinking, what kind of technology device does a Bailiff need other than perhaps a Taser? Our answers were:

1.   A device that is small and light partially so that it cannot become a weapon
2.   Battery power for a full work day
3.   Wireless communications WiFi and/or cellular connection
4.   Capable of quiet operation so as to not disturb the courtroom
5.   An easy user interface

The result that we concluded from this short but demanding specification list was that either an Apple iPod Touch or an Apple iPhone could be an answer. And while we realize that there are other touch screen portable devices that available at this time, for sake of this discussion let’s use these two devices as the examples.

But before we get started, please note that the following scenarios pretty much requires a secure wireless WiFi network meaning that the network passwords are enabled and the data traffic is encrypted be installed throughout the courthouse. Many courthouses have or are already implementing WiFi and we expect that it will be close to universal in the next few years.

The first and most obvious use of the iPod type system would be for quiet communications. The iPod would allow the judge or judicial assistant to exchange messages via e-mail or some version of text messaging. Since there is no keyboard on the iPod, the Bailiff’s typing on the touch-screen would not be audible to the courtroom. This preserves the decorum of the courtroom and allows seamless communication with the Bailiff wherever they are in the courthouse.

A second possible use for the Bailiff’s iPod would be to notify the courtroom of the “queue” of defendants or parties who are ready for the judge. For criminal matters the Bailiffs may work with the detention officers as to which defendants are ready to be brought to the courtroom. Bailiffs also check with persons appearing at the courtroom as to the reason for their appearance. I am often rightly questioned when observing courtroom operations as to my presence. This allows Bailiffs to communicate the attendance to the court. We have seen this type of activity in the courtroom corridors before a court session. A wireless device that lists persons expected for that session would facilitate the check-in process with the court in and out of the courtroom.

A third possible use for a Bailiff’s handheld system could be as a detained defendant locator system. The goal of this function is to simply learn where detained defendants are located in the courthouse. In large courthouses there are many holding areas and persons are placed wherever practical. With a portable iPod Touch system there are a myriad of methods that a court could implement to keep track of detained persons and notify Bailiff’s quietly as to their location and status. A simple approach would be that defendant locations could be e-mailed/text messaged to all Bailiffs. But a more sophisticated approach would be to create a web page type application that everyone could see via the browser. This system could potentially be automatically updated from the iPod’s touch screen or via bar code – another article on this in the future.

A fourth possible application for the Bailiff’s iPod would be to view the security video system output. As more security video systems convert to digital IP based computer format, that output could be viewed by the Bailiff via the WiFi network again, with proper security. This provides an additional level of personal physical security since the Bailiff could visually check the holding area before entering. It would also allow Bailiffs to monitor the courtroom and corridors as needed/desired.

A fifth possible application would be to allow some secure doors to be opened via the iPod. For example, by combining the security video output and electronic door control, a Bailiff could be notified on their iPod if say an attorney calls to be admitted to the secure judge’s chambers area.

Sixth, the Bailiff could carry photos of wanted or dangerous persons on their iPod for reference. If as is expected this winter, the iPod gains a camera capability they could also use it to take a photo of a “person of interest” to send to local law enforcement for research.

Last, a quick Google search found that an iPod Touch referred to as iTouch in the following message has already been used for school security:

"I worked for a school district that issued the iTouch to each officer. They came equipped with each student from the officers school information. Schedule, locker number, picture, parents name, address, phone number etc. In addition all departmental emails could be received immediately. Next year the iTouches are due to be online with cameras throughout the district." (retrieved from http://forums.securityinfowatch.com/showthread.php?t=8035 )

In conclusion, the proposed iPod based system would likely not replace a police band radio that many Bailiffs are equipped. But we believe that it provides some interesting additional possibilities. But we have almost always found that when we think we have thought of something original here at the NCSC, someone in the courts has already done it. If so, please let us share your story with here at the Court Tech Bulletin. And we’re looking forward to seeing the hi-tech Bailiff’s in the courthouse!

Friday, August 28, 2009

Alabama Courthouse Installs Videophones

An in-depth article posted on August 4, 2009 at the Sound and Video Contractor magazine website titled: Installation Spotlight: Limestone County courthouse, Alabama highlights the process and benefits that the court has experience from installation of videophones for initial appearance hearings. The article states:

"Limestone purchased six 7985G videophones—one for each judge, one for the jail, and one for an on-call Dell E6500 laptop system."

Some Cool New Tech - Late Summer Edition

This summer has seen some interesting tech hardware introductions. The first is a new touch/pen enabled e-Ink Reader Touch Edition from Sony for $299. A nice review of the system was posted on ZDNet Between the Lines column.

The second interesting new techno-toy is a new Asus Eee PC T91 Netbook that combines small size, light weight and the flexibility of a Tablet PC. The CNet Reviews website has an article and video on this new offering.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

CTC-2009 Website Sessions - Do you have the nerve?

CTC-2009 session panelists NCSC Web Content Editor/Manager, Pam Burton is asking for volunteers for a review of your courts website. They write:

Two sessions at the 2009 Court Technology Conference in September feature Web-savvy panelists who want to look at YOUR site and share some insights. Really!

And it costs you nothing, beyond the courage to be analyzed before an audience of your peers.

Have a look at the sessions below and submit your site by Friday, Sept. 4, if you would like to be considered for review. Both sessions are designed with theory and best practices up front -- how the sites we review are getting it right and/or how they could improve.

If you wish to read more and respond to Pam please go to THIS LINK. A short six-question survey form is available there if you want to volunteer.