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Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Ind. Courts - "Monroe courts picked as computer test site"

The ILB has a long list of entries, beginning with this one on March 8, 2005, on the Indiana Supreme Court's efforts to implement a state-wide case management system.

This most recent ILB entry, dated Oct. 26, 2007, headed "State court plan to link county courts by 2015 may not permit interfaces by long-existing private company that already links more than 40 counties," discussed how the planned state court pilot project in Monroe County might (unnecessarily) interfere with existing DoxPop service in that county.

That situation apparently continues to be unresolved. However, the Bloomington Herald Times ($$$) has a story today by Bethany Nolan proving general background on the Monroe County pilot project:

Monroe County is a test site for a new computerized courts case management system the state hopes will be used by all 92 Indiana counties within the next five years.

The state is footing the bill for the Web-based system, which enables courts to automate functions such as imaging, accounting, docketing and creating calendars and reports. Indiana Supreme Court Justice Frank Sullivan, who was in Bloomington Monday to talk with area judges, county officials and attorneys about the new system, said it will also allow citizens to check the status of a case through the Internet for free, create a statewide registry of protective orders, and allow law enforcement to issue paperless “e-tickets” that will transmit directly into the system. It will also connect with the state Bureau of Motor Vehicles, the Indiana State Police, the Department of Correction and the Family and Social Services Administration.

The new system, called Odyssey, will go live in Monroe County on Dec. 17. Marion County’s small claims court is serving as a test site as well. The system was developed by Texas-based Tyler Technology.

“This will move us, by substantial steps, into the 21st century,” Monroe Circuit Judge Kenneth Todd said. “It will move us into a far better position to serve the citizens of Monroe County, and serve them in a more efficient and capable fashion.”

Sullivan, who serves as chair of the state Supreme Court’s Judicial Technology and Automation Committee, said the committee formed several years ago to provide help for local courts. Committee members believe the Odyssey system will create more efficient courts, improve communication with law enforcement and save money by moving counties that operate on different systems to the same case management system, he said.

“The Indiana Supreme Court is proud to be your partner in technology,” he said, adding, “This is all about trying to do things more efficiently by combining the resources of multiple counties.”

The state is paying for the system through user fees — of the fee people pay to file a civil case, $7 is dedicated to the project, Sullivan said. That’s raised enough to pay the expected $7 million to $8 million licensing fees for the program, he said. The state also expects to pay for updates, maintenance and to keep up a central server system in Indianapolis. The committee will also use about $65,000 in grant money to help law enforcement agencies obtain the necessary equipment to issue “e-tickets” rather than traditional paper violation tickets, Sullivan said.

Monroe County got a bonus by being a test site, however. The state is converting the data of more than 250,000 cases in the county’s current case management system to put into the Odyssey system so the county doesn’t have to run two systems in the future.

Sullivan said the committee hopes to see 20 percent of the state’s counties using Odyssey by the end of 2008, with the goal of having most counties online by 2010 or 2011. He said the state chose Monroe County as a test site because of the county’s eagerness to participate and its high quality courts and technology staff.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on November 27, 2007 04:24 PM
Posted to Indiana Courts