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Sunday, April 08, 2007

Ind. Courts - Round-about route for an update on the Indiana Court's case management system

News has been sparse on the progress in implementing the Indiana Court's case management system. Since the announcement of a vendor Nov. 6, 2006, there has in fact been no news - the official site has not been updated.

The ILB has found only one report since, this one from March 3rd, quoting from the Bloomington Herald Times:

Indiana’s plan to launch a statewide case management court system will start with help from Monroe County.

The Indiana Supreme Court hopes to link all courts and clerk offices across the state, and it approached Monroe County to serve as the initial test site.

Today, via a Seattle paper, here is an AP story datelined Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, that reports:
HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Pennsylvania's new statewide computer system makes it possible for the first time to put a number on how many warrants remain unserved across the state - 1.4 million, including more than 100 for homicide, The Associated Press has found.

Pennsylvania is now the largest state to complete such a comprehensive court computer network, although several other large states - including California, New York and Ohio - are planning or implementing such systems, according to the National Center for State Courts in Williamsburg, Va.

The database is designed, in part, to help authorities reach across county lines to capture fugitives who have moved to avoid detection. It will also allow government officials and the public to compare how courts are performing from county to county. * * *

The system, which went fully online in September, also gives the public instant Internet access to case docket information, with more detailed information - including access to the warrants - available to law enforcement and court officials.

"Better information equals better justice," said James E. McMillan, principal court technology consultant for the National Center for State Courts. "Because when you have more complete and more accurate information, you don't make as many mistakes."

The system also improves scheduling, makes it simpler to move cases from one level to the next, and gives judges more information about a person's background for setting bail.

Among other states, Indiana will be testing a new computer system in some counties in the next two years that will provide a statewide warrants database, said Mary L. DePrez, a technology officer with the Indiana Supreme Court.

Pennsylvania spent $105 million on its Common Pleas Case Management System, which required buying and installing more than 800 computers and training thousands of workers during the past three years.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on April 8, 2007 06:28 PM
Posted to Indiana Courts