Tuesday, May 29, 2007

NIEM "Harmony" Released

A recent newsletter from the NIEM project stated:


"The new release of the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM), version 2.0, also known as the “Harmony” release, was driven by practitioner requirements through a well-defined collaborative process and brings many great features. Some of the highlights of NIEM 2.0 are:
  • Improved semantic quality (harmonization) of the NIEM Core model (Universal and Common) as well as some specific components from the individual domains.
  • Remodeling to remove duplication, complexity, and ambiguity.
  • Simplification of Universal and Common components to make it easier to understand and use the model, while maintaining their identity of Universal and Common in metadata.
  • Domain version independence.
  • Integrated ~30 NCCT issues resolved by NBAC/NTAC.
  • Addition of five new code lists and types, and updates to existing code lists.
  • Migration tools, both for those using NIEM 1.0 as well as those using GJXDM 3.0.3."
For additional information see the full announcement at: http://www.niem.gov/newsletter1.php#1

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Court GJXDM/NIEM Projects in Progress, May, 2007

We have recently heard from several courts that are working on data sharing programs.

Thom Edwards from the New Hampshire Administrative Office of the Courts reports that they currently have a project called J-ONE underway that will use the GJXDM as the standard for information exchange.  He also reports that the J-ONE project will provide transformation services to connect to their new court case management system.  They are also considering exchanges with other state agencies. In particular they are looking into exchanges in the area of Child Support orders and the federal IV-D program.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Kankakee County, Illinois issues RFP for Court CMS

Note: This article has been edited on June 11, 2007 to reflect the extended response date. 

We received the following announcement:

The mission of this RFP is to obtain a CMS that will provide unity and cohesiveness within the various offices of the Kankakee County Court System. The core is the Clerk of the Circuit Court, with the integration of the States’ Attorney, Public Defender, Probation, Judges, County Sheriff, and local law enforcement agencies. Other Court Support Services will also be incorporated to facilitate the Court Processes.

The Kankakee County project manager and sole point of contact for purposes of this procurement is:

Becky Farmer, Project Manager
Phone: (815) 937-2905
rfarmer@k3county.net

The RFP, attachments, Kankakee County contact information and Kankakee County demographic information is located at http://www.k3county.net/bidsnrfps.html

To be considered, all proposals must be received in the issuing office no later than 2:00 p.m. Central Time on June 18, 2007 July 9, 2007. Proposals received after this time and date will not be considered.

Thursday, May 10, 2007

BJA Regional Information Sharing Conference in Jacksonville, Florida

SEARCH Group and the US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance sent us the following press release: 


It’s time to act fast if you don’t want to miss the last of four BJA-sponsored conferences to be held at the Hyatt Regency-Jacksonville Riverfront June 4-6, 2007. The cutoff date to reserve your hotel rooms is May 12.
Can your organization afford to lag behind in the critical area of planning, managing, and implementing technology solutions for your information sharing systems? If not, now is your chance to take advantage of this great opportunity to:
  • Hear success stories from justice and public safety practitioners from your region and across the nation as they discuss pitfalls to avoid, lessons learned, and what has worked for them.
  • Learn how to use the latest developments in policy, privacy and security, technologies, and standards to solve your information sharing challenges.
  • Participate in daily breakout sessions tailored specifically for executives, managers and implementers
  • Benefit from sessions that focus on strategic planning, best practices, information exchange modeling, knowledge management, partnership building—and more!
  • Network with fellow practitioners from local, state, and federal agencies.
Some recipients of this email may already have attended one of the earlier conferences, and we are glad to have met you.  We have included you as a recipient so that you may encourage others in your organization to attend this last conference.

Sponsored by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, in cooperation with SEARCH, The National Consortium for Justice Information and Statistics, and the GJXDM Training and Technical Assistance Committee.

Friday, May 4, 2007

NIEM 2.0 Beta1

The NIEM 2.0 Beta1 is available for review and comment. It can be downloaded from http://niem.gtri.gatech.edu/niem/2.0beta1/niem2b1.zip. The release package includes a document with release notes that detail changes and the planned timeline for the 2.0 release. Please direct any questions or comments to Scott Fairholm at sfairholm@ncsc.dni.us. The deadline for comments is May 15.

Tuesday, May 1, 2007

Global Justice Information Sharing Conference Announced

The US Department of Justice has announced their upcoming Global Justice Information Sharing Conference to be held from August 21-23 in Chicago, Illinois.  The conference website states that (t)he U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance, has collaborated with various local, state, tribal, and federal partners to develop the best possible resources to support nationwide information sharing implementations. The Global Justice Information Sharing Users' Conference will highlight best practices and lessons learned and will feature new implementation projects. The presentations will highlight both the development of the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM) and the many projects supported by DOJ's Global Justice XML Data Model (GJXDM). Additional information regarding NIEM can be found at www.niem.gov, and additional information on GJXDM can be found at www.it.ojp.gov.

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Washington State Tests Electronic Citation System

According to a Press Release from the Washington Courts:
"Drivers stopped for violating traffic laws in Washington, or who are involved in a collision, are going to see something new. Currently, a select group of officers from local and state law enforcement agencies are using a system that allows electronic ticketing and collision reporting. Preliminary feedback indicates a reduction in traffic stop times."

"Prior to testing the electronic system, I timed a number of my traffic stops," said Officer David Johansen of the Lacey Police Department. "Electronic ticketing has cut these times by about half, allowing drivers to get back on the road faster." A study will be conducted to determine the amount of time officers actually save. Results are expected in fall 2007.

The overall project known as "eTrip" has a website with additional information on this and other initiatives.

Monday, April 23, 2007

King County Language Interpreter Website Wins Award

In 2006, the National Association for Court Management recognized the King County, Washington District Court with their Justice achievement award.  The Washington Courts noted this award in a press release that describes the system.  In addition, you can visit the website and download a Technical FAQ.  A well deserved award for an innovative system.

Thursday, April 19, 2007

New Technology Trends Articles Posted

John Matthias and Jim McMillan have posted two new trends articles on the NCSC's website. John's article is titled E-Filing Expansion in State, Local, and Federal Courts 2007. Jim's article is titled Using Technology to Improve Customer Service. Both can be downloaded by clicking on the title links. Both articles are part of the NCSC's Future Trends in State Courts series that are compiled each year in the the Trends Report.

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Phoenix Municipal Court Offers WiFi Service

Tim Lawler, the IST Division Administrator of the Phoenix, Arizona Municipal Court wrote recently that they have installed "no charge" filtered wireless Internet service in their court.