CITOC Announces Innovation Awards

The national Court Information Technology Officers Consortium (CITOC) and the Conference of State Court Administrators honored the following courts with awards in December, 2014 during their annual conference.

•  Innovation in Business Process Award 2014: Superior Court of California, Orange County

•  Innovation in Technology Award 2014: North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts

The Hagan Manifesto on PDF's

Used with permission from Ms. Hagan

Our favorite Law Design blogger, Ms. Margaret Hagan, has posted her “short manifesto” on “Law’s PDF Problem”.  I agree with her observations and offer some additional commentary.

Ms. Hagan is doing some excellent work in examining how legal systems have been designed (or not designed) over the past few years.  Her recent post looks at the problem of legal (including court) information being “buried in PDF’s”.  She notes:

The Courtroom Tablet - Microsoft Surface Hub

 

Image from Microsoft

One of the most interesting thing that was announced by Microsoft earlier this week was the Surface Hub 84-inch 4K interactive display (there will be a 55” size also).  Talk about a tablet!  This is one device that has the potential for everyone in the courtroom to see and use. 

This article from Engadget.com describes the systems features.  It includes a the pressure sensitive stylus that allows the user to change colors and line thickness, built-in cameras with Skype for Business video and desktop conferencing, and the ability to wirelessly connect with any “Miracast-enabled device” so that when Windows10 is released, one will be able to download images from the screen to save for archive/evidence.

It was reported that it will be available later in 2015.

This and That in Court Technology - January 2015

A new CTB template and other court technology news is noted in this month's post.

New Court Technology Bulletin Template

You might notice that the CTB looks different.  In celebration of its fifth year as a Google Blogger blog we decided the go with a new cleaner look.  There is a new blog masthead thanks to one of our talented NCSC graphics designers, Elizabeth Maddox.   We have also gathered all of our links and resources together on one page so that there is a “one-stop” place to find things that are useful to the court technologist.  We hope you like it.

2015 – The Year We Can Talk about Using Automation the Way Judges (and People) Actually Work

Lenovo Yoga AnyPen

Apologies for the long title, but it is becoming clear that automation has finally caught up to the way judges actually work, by speaking and writing with a pen.

Internet Access to Court Records Upsets Canadians

According to an article in The Globe and Mail newspaper, “(o)ver the past year, close to 100 people have complained to the Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII), after coming across legal decisions that mention their names through Google searches.  The rulings are public information, but most are shocked to see the details of their court cases – often family law, criminal or immigration matters – on the Internet for anyone to read.”

Supreme Court of the US Chief Justice Notes Technology in Year-End Report

In his tenth report, Chief Justice John Roberts focused on information technology in the US Courts (PDF).

Orange County, California E-Filing Benefits Reported

Orange County Courthouse

In response to our earlier Court Technology Bulletin article regarding the difficulty in quantifying the benefits of E-filing, we heard from the Judicial Council of California regarding a recently submitted report to their legislature on the topic.

This and That in Court Technology – December, 2014

Nevada Chief Justice Mark Gibbons

Notes and article links about E-Courts, Wearable Evidence in courts, a settlement about inaccurate court data in a credit bureau, monitor twisting, smartphone driver’s licenses, a “Moneyball” approach to crime prosecution, E-filing at Michigan appellate courts, the Texas Bar online legal education website, Ms. Sharon Nelson, and upcoming conferences in this month's This and That.

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.

E-Filing Benefits are Hard to Quantify

With E-courts 2014 coming next week, we share some thoughts on the difficulty in quantifying the benefits of E-filing.

Faster WiFi Coming Soon to a Court Near You

Faster 802.11ac Wireless networks are coming.  Time to start planning.

This and That in Court Technology - November, 2014

Bananas Foster French Toast at E-Courts

Time again for news from the wide, wide world of technology for courts.

Court Case Management Systems Part 16 – Reports and Statistics

Originally, court case management systems were justified based on their ability to produce court management reports and statistics for policy makers.  They have generally achieved these goals but there is more that CCMS should be able to do.

Lucas County, Ohio Releases CMS RFP

The Lucas County Common Pleas Court is looking for a court case management system.  Responses are due by December 30, 2014 with a mandatory pre-proposal conference to be held on November 18, 2014 at the Lucas County Common Pleas Court.  A $10,000 bid bond is required.

The RFP and all relevant information is available at: http://co.lucas.oh.us/bids.aspx?bidID=487

New Options in Courtroom Displays

Since we write about technology here, it is good to think about how to display the output in our courtrooms and elsewhere in the courthouse.

More This and That in Court Technology for October, 2014

This has been an especially busy month in Court Tech.  We share what we learned in this second edition for October, 2014.

Cloud Based Adobe Connect Integration with EchoSign

Courts looking for a combined video and electronic signature solution for warrants and similar communications can now look to Adobe for a possible solution.

The Greatest Keyboard Ever Made

The legacy IBM PC/AT keyboard is fondly remembered.

This and That in Court Tech – October, 2014

This month’s news and notes from the varied world of technology in the courts, legal system, and everywhere else.

Some Thoughts on Electronic Document Navigation

Many times I hear that electronic documents are too hard to work with.  In this article we explore some ideas to help address this perceived and real problem.

US Federal Courts Data Conversion Explained

Many of you may have read about the controversy regarding some of the US Federal Courts "losing" PACER case file information.  Fortunately, the Wall Street Journal clarifies.

Jury Social Media Responsibility Poster

Our friends at the Center for Jury Studies here at the NCSC have developed a poster for Jurors on their responsibilities regarding the Internet and Social Media.  You can download a PDF copy by clicking here.

Credit Card Payment Tech - Change is coming in 2015

Three new ways of paying by credit card are coming (well, two for our international court friends).  So courts should begin planning for this conversion in 2015.

Handwritten Signatures - Now a “Punch Line” – Part 3

A new example of a fake court document highlights the failure of current "visual" document validation methods.