Reengineering through changes to business processes and technology

Centralization of functions:

• Electronic processing of payments, i.e. fines, fees, restitution, and juror per diem
• Automated referral to collection departments or agencies
• Collections processing
• Traffic citations processing
• Call Centers to answer questions about any case in the state
• Jury management functions

• Jury summons
• Juror qualification questionnaires

• Processing and issuance of default judgment orders
• Probate annual reports
• Education for judges and staff

Videoconferencing (Interactive Television)

• Arraignments for incarcerated defendants
• Detention hearings for detained juveniles
• Child support hearings
• Motions in civil cases that do not involve testimony
• Additional simple hearings
• Interpreters for persons with limited English proficiency
• Off-site live testimony

Processes

• Establish a statewide fine schedule for petty misdemeanors
• Expand the list of misdemeanors and ordinance violations that are payables
• Implement “in-court updating” to make docket entries into the case management system, preparing sentencing and other orders and to affix electronic signatures
• Transition to digital recording of court proceedings

Structure

• Create a single tier trial court or a single tier limited jurisdiction court
• Consolidate the number of districts
• Reallocate judges to districts based upon weighted caseload
• Review jurisdiction and venue, particularly as it relates to the centralized filing of cases and the centralized issues of orders
• Expand the use of subordinate judicial officers to hear:

• Small claims
• Housing
• Traffic
• Child support
• Other: ...

• Consolidate clerks/managers with expansion of responsibility to multiple locations

E-Everything

• Electronic filing

• Establish one or more centralized filing centers, by region and/or by case type
• Turbo-tax type software to simplify document filings for self represented litigants (i.e. A2J)
• Electronic citation by all law enforcement agencies

• Create an electronic file with an electronic document management system
• Develop electronic workflow
• Enable judges and staff to affix electronic signatures on orders and notices
• Make electronic case files from every court in the jurisdiction accessible to one or more call centers and/or to all court locations
• Create a virtual Web-Based Information Center to provide direct public access to court records and to provide information helpful particularly to self represented litigants