Virginia Courts Announce E-Filing Pilot

Press Release - April 10, 2013

The Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia and George E. Schaefer, Clerk of the Norfolk Circuit Court, announce that the Virginia Judiciary E-Filing System (VJEFS), which allows attorneys to electronically file civil actions in circuit court, will be implemented as a pilot program in the Norfolk Circuit Court, beginning April 15, 2013.

This and That in Court Technology - April 2013

The court tech world has been busy this month, perhaps due to the late arrival of spring?

IJIS & LegalXML Announce "Springboard Program" for E-Filing

On April 2, 2013 the IJIS Institute issued a Call for Participation in cooperation with the OASIS LegalXML Electronic Court Filing workgroup to “spring” development and adoption of the 4.01 standards.

Q&A with Daniel Lewis of Ravel Law

There are many exciting things happening in the world of legal information systems.  One innovative graphical presentation approach has been taken by Ravel.  We were recently fortunate to have Daniel respond to our questions in the following article.

2013 Top Ten Websites Award - Call for Nominations!

The Forum on the Advancement of Court Technology (FACT), a special committee of NACM, is pleased to invite you to nominate a court or court-related website for its 2013 Top Ten Websites Award. All nominations are due no later than May 15 to be considered.

Hello, are you a human?

As courts increasingly introduce online services a key question is whether the Internet connected user is an actual person to validate the action?

Court Case Management Systems Part 8: Criminal Case Sentencing and Consequences

Criminal sentence data is one of the most challenging aspects in Court Case Management Systems design.  This chapter in our ongoing series forwards some ideas on the subject.

California Courts Qualify CMS Vendors

Three case management system providers have been approved by a consortium of California trial courts.

This and That in Court Technology - March 2013

News we have heard from the world of court technology.

Michigan Electronic Filing Manager System Announced

Last year the CTB announced the release of a request for proposal for a statewide E-filing electronic filing manager system for the State of Michigan.  The contract/award was announced today.

Computer Assisted Deception Detection

One of the courts key functions is determining "the truth" in testimony.  There is work being done to provide automated assistance.

Court Scheduling Reform Advocated

In an editorial following the recent and tragic shootings in Wilmington, Delaware on February 12, 2013, there was a call for reform of court scheduling.

More on Open Document Format (ODF)

ODF is an XML international standard for word processing documents that is now fully supported in Microsoft's recent release of Office 2013.  Why does this matter?

CITOC Innovation Award Winner – Barbara Holmes

At the Court Information Technology Officers Consortium (CITOC) Annual Meeting held in December 2012 in Las Vegas, the first Innovation Award winner was announced.

Indiana Courts E-Filing Project Primer

The Indiana Division of State Court Administration has posted a very useful web page on creating and implementing an E-filing system.

CTC 2013 Big Idea Reminder

Don't forget to submit your "Big Ideas" for CTC 2013.  Click here to connect to the survey.

This and That in Court Technology – Groundhog Day 2013 Edition

Some news that we have picked up from the court tech world.  And for our international friends, here is a link to information about what Groundhog Day is and even better, the film.

Court Case Management Systems Part 7: Criminal Charges and Data Sharing

This chapter in our court case management series discusses criminal charge-related issues.

With E-Filing Increasing in Trial Courts, Legislatures Consider How Clerks Are to Create a Record on Appeal

Cross posted from the NCSC Gavel to Gavel blog

NIEM Townhall and CLCT Privacy and Public Access Conference Announcements

Two educational programs were announced by NIEM and the Center for Legal & Court Technology.

CTC 2013 Ideas Requested

The NCSC is asking our court and technology friends what you want to see at CTC 2013?

Court Policies Issued

Several courts have issued new court policies dealing with electronic device use in the courthouse, E-filing, and the California Attorney General provides mobile application privacy recommendations.

Massachusetts Announces Public Access Program

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Probate and Family Court is pleased to announce that publicly available Estate and Administration cases are now accessible via the internet.

Skating to Where the Puck is Going

Celebrating the recent settlement of the National Hockey League labor dispute, we pay homage to Wayne "The Great" Gretsky's quote:  “Skate where the puck is going, not where it’s been”, this week we look at what courts could use from the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) show in Las Vegas.

Arizona Courts Release Judicial Decision Support RFP

The  Arizona  Supreme  Court  is  requesting proposals  from  qualified  bidders  to  provide  an  automated  judicial  decision  support system  designed  to  reduce  the  courts  reliance  on  paper  that  will  allow  for  real-time updating  and  viewing  of  digital  case  documents.

To download a PDF copy of the RFP click here.

Pennsylvania Expands Internet Access to Case Records

Via Press Release, January 7, 2013 - Pennsylvania CMS Internet access to records expanded.

This and That in Court Tech – January 2013

Here are some things that recently happened in court technology and related areas.

E-Courts 2012 Wrap-Up

I hope that many of your reading this post were able to attend last week’s E-Courts 2012 Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.  This article discusses some highlights.

Singapore E-Courts Presentation

The Singapore Supreme Court presentation on their new Integrated Electronic Litigation System (iLES) at the E-Courts 2012 conference is available for viewing/download by clicking here.

CTC 2013 Super Saver Rate Announced

The NCSC announced a special super-saver rate for next years Court Technology Conference to be held in Baltimore, Maryland from September 17-19, 2012.  The rate is $500 and is available until December 31, 2012.  Click on the "Register Now" link at the conference website to sign up.

E-Courts 30 Tech Tips in 30 MInutes

The Tuesday, December 11, 2012 E-Courts Conference presentation by NCSC staff, 30 Tech Tips in 30 Minutes is available by clicking here.

E-Courts 2012 on Twitter

Follow the happenings at this year's E-Courts conference on Twitter using #eCourts 

Massachusetts Courts Release E-Filing Pilot RFP

The Massachusetts Courts have released an RFP to pilot E-filing services for several of their courts.  To access the RFP go to their Commonwealth's Procurement and Solicitation System Comm-Pass at http://www.comm-pass.com/ and search (see bottom of the page) for reference document number "MATCourts 2012 1"

Court Case Management Systems 2012 Part 6: Tasks, Events, and Workflow

This chapter in the court case management series discusses the concepts of tasks, events and workflow as key design elements.

Leading Vendors Speak at E-Courts 2012

One of the most interesting part of the education program at every E-Courts Conference are the Vendor Bonus Sessions.  We have seen groundbreaking ideas such as Chief Judge Connie Steinheimer's CASEaDia with Tybera in 2008 and Tyler's statewide electronic courts implementation approach in 2010.  Here is a list of the sessions scheduled this year:

8:00 am  - ImageSoft:  Paving the Last Mile to a Paper-On-Demand Court
8:30 am  - SUSTAIN
9:00 am  - Thomson Reuters:  Expand your Capabilities with Thomson Reuters
9:30 am  - Tyler Technologies
10:00 am - USCourts.com:  E-Filing -- The Judge's Perspective
10:30 am - CourtView:  Celebrate Your Differences! (a new approach to case flow challenges)
11:00 am - Tybera:  Puzzled by eFiling?: Six Things We’ve Learned from Implementing Integrated eFiling Systems.

A fire hose of ideas at E-Courts 2012

The Googling Juror - An Update

Our good friend (and CTC-2011 speaker) New Zealand Judge David Harvey has updated his work on jurors and the Internet.

State of Washington Issues Appellate Court RFP

The Washington State Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) is soliciting Proposals from qualified Vendors to  acquire a commercial off-the-shelf Enterprise Content Management System (ECMS) and the services required to implement the ECMS, validate it, and deploy the ECMS in the Washington State Supreme Court and three (3) Washington State Court of Appeals Divisions.

One can register and also obtain a copy of the RFP at: www.courts.wa.gov/procure

Fresno California Seeks CMS

The Superior Court of California, County of Fresno, is seeking one replacement case management system for two legacy case management systems – Banner and CCMS V2 - implementing in stages, one CMS for all case types.

LegalXML ECF 4.01 Approved as Committee Specification - Updated 12/9/12

We learned today that the LegalXML ECF committee has voted to approve the 4.01 draft and has forwarded it as a candidate OASIS specification.  Version 4.01 is a maintenance release that addresses minor schema and definition issues.

To view the specification click here.

This and That in Court Technology – November, 2012

More news from the web-o-sphere on Court Tech.

CMS Data Conversion and Archiving with XML

There is an attractive alternative to converting data when replacing, updating, or archiving your court case management system.

Court Case Management Systems 2012 Part 5: System Configurability and Adaptability

This installment in the court case management series discusses different overall approaches to system design.

Keeping Authentication Simple

Courts have concerns about the use of their published electronic information.  The following excellent article recommends some solutions.

Sacramento Superior Court Announces Statewide CMS RFP

Sacramento Superior Court seeks to enter into a Master Software license and Services Agreement with suitable vendors for an enterprise case management solution capable of replacing the antiquated CMS's for the Superior Courts of California.

Illinois Supreme Court Approves Statewide E-Filing Standards

By Illinois Supreme Court press release, October 24, 2012

Chief Justice Thomas L. Kilbride and the Illinois Supreme Court announced new statewide standards and new and amended Supreme Court rules that will allow all courts in Illinois to begin electronic filing of court documents in civil cases.

E-Filing and Online Dispute Resolution

The Canadian Forum on Court Technology generated some ideas on how E-Filing and ODR could potentially complement one another.

Pennsylvania Courts Announce Online Forms

A press release from the Pennsylvania Courts on October 18, 2012 describes their new Internet forms are designed to "break down language barriers for families".

NIEM 3.0 “Coming Soon” Website Announced

The National Information Exchange Model program has posted a new website for practitioners to track the progress of the new version 3.0 development.

More PDF/A News

A couple of announcements regarding the international PDF/A standard that courts should know. - Updated with link to the ISO draft standard.

New Hampshire Issues Jury System RFP

The New Hampshire Judicial Branch has issued an RFP for a jury management system.