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e-Courts West Conference.

In December 2005 the Conference of Chief Justices adopted Resolution 8, The Emergence of E-Everything. This Resolution is based on an August 2005 Position Paper of the Conference of State Courts Administrators. Many E-services are addressed in this position paper including online access to court records, electronic filing, online payment of fines and fees, online court forms, video conferencing, opinions, jury applications, court calendars. etc. Most courts are endeavoring to include these applications on their court Web site.

In addition, many courts have been striving toward a "paper on demand" environment for years. This is a major paradigm shift. Since established, courts have been coping with literally tons of paper on a daily basis. The many benefits of the electronic court record (ECR) are compelling. These benefits include the ability for more than one person to view the record simultaneously, the ready availability of the record, the dramatic reduction in storage costs, and it is environmentally responsible. The foundations of an ECR application include the acceptance of the electronic document as the original court record and the use of digital signatures. King County (Seattle), Washington is a pioneer in ECR arena.

A spinoff of the e-court environment is its contribution to the "greening of the courts" movement that is sweeping the court community. E-services Internet applications keep customers away from the courthouse - reducing gasoline consumption and preventing CO2 emissions, while incurring numerous cost savings for the court. Reduction in paper usage also reduces costs while saving our forests.

Links to related online resources are listed below. Non-digitized publications may be borrowed from the NCSC Library; call numbers are provided.

Featured Links

JRA Implementation Project Competative Award Announcement Proposals sought to design and implement information sharing solutions that utilize the Justice Reference Architecture (JRA)

Court Technology Bulletin This online version of the Court Technology Bulletin features cutting edge information about technology and the court community. (Note: digitized copies of the printed version of the Bulletins from 1989 to 2003 are available in the Digital Archive.)

Paper-on-Demand: A Roadmap to the Digital Courthouse Presentation from the Twenty-fifth Anniversary of the National Court Technology Conference that identifies the benefits/costs associated with migrating to a paper-on-demand environment.

How to Get eCourt Project Funding in Tough Times Presentation from the Twenty-fifth Anniversary of the National Court Technology Conference on the implementation of the Oregon eCourt.

Alabama Adopts e-Everything Attitude Presentation from the Twenty-fifth Anniversary of the National Court Technology Conference that reviews Alabama's applications: AlaFile, AlaCourt, AlaVault, eAppellate, eTranscripts and eCitations.

Paper on Demand 2.0 Presentation from the Twenty-fifth Anniversary of the National Court Technology Conference that showcases the Superior Court of California, County of Orange.

The ROI of Emerging Technologies Presentation from the Twenty-fifth Anniversary of the National Court Technology Conference. Highlights of Manatee County Florida's decision of not going with a "less paper" approach.

Court Technology Conference Presentations

"Oregon ECourt - Improving Judicial Outcomes and Services."

Article from the Future Trends in State Courts 2009 report by Bud Borja.

Trends Articles

General

Caradonna, Peter. New Hampshire E-Court Project: e-court issues and choices, part 2. (2011). New Hampshire Judicial Branch and the National Center for State Courts.

The key issues discussed in this document are: the architecture of document management, implementation by Whole Court or by Case Type, and Implement Day Forward or Ingest Active/Legacy Documents.

Eigo, Tim. Pushing Paper The Path to Digital Courts. (July 2009). Arizona Attorney A Round Table discussion on the issues of E-Notification, E-Filing and E -Public Access in the Arizona Courts, (Note: Article is located on page 46.)

The Emergence of E-Everything. (December 2005).

Conference of State Court Administrators (COSCA) Position Paper

This COSCA Position Paper was adopted as proposed by the Policy and Liaison Committee at the COSCA 2005 Midyear Meeting, San Diego, California, December 9, 2005 in Resolution 8.

E Court Services

e-courts. Colorado State Judicial Branch Colorado offers many e-Court Services including online payment of fines, fees, costs, and restitution; access to e-filing and public access resources, court forms; jury information and more.

E-Services. State of Connecticut Judicial Branch Attorneys and law firms with a secure password may access and complete certain business transactions electronically in the Superior Court including uploading briefs.

eCourt. Superior Court of Arizona, Maricopa County This Web site contains interactive interviews to assist in completing the forms necessary to create court documents for Legal Separation, Dissolution of Marriage, Conciliation and more. The site also includes downloadable court forms and instructions.

eCourt Services . Alabama Administrative Office of the Courts Services include - ALACourt: Public Access to Court Records - E-File: Electronic Filing - ALANotice: Email notification of changes in civil cases - ALAPay: Payment of traffic tickets, fees, and parking tickets online - E-Forms: Demand printing of court forms - and E-Legal: A service for the Alabama Judicial Department (log-in needed).

eCourts. New York State Unified Justice System Services include future appearance dates for cases in Criminal, Family, and Housing Courts; information on both active and disposed cases in Civil, Supreme, and Local Civil Courts; and email updates and appearance reminders for Civil, Supreme, and Local Civil Court cases.

eService Center. Washington Courts Customers may use this service to get answers to questions regarding Washington Courts as well as submit questions to the Washington State Administrative Office of the Courts.

Layman, Cliff. North Carolina E-Services . (August 2009). North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts North Carolina has introduced several E- Services including E-Citations, E-filing, and E-Discovery and much more.

Online Services . Superior Court of California - County of Orange Online services in Orange County include: Calendar Info, Case Access, E-Filing, E-Juror, Payments, Forms, and more.

Electronic Court Record

Case Management/Electronic Case Files (CM/ECF). U. S. Courts - The Federal Judiciary This system allows attorneys to file documents directly with the court over the Internet and courts to file, store, and manage their case files in an easy to access, transparent way. After ten years a group of federal judges and court staff is thinking about the future of the system as reported in "Looking for the Next Generation of the CM/ECF System" in the Third Branch (May 2009).

Wessels, Bob and Harry Leverette. Data Quality Management for Courts. (March 2009). Caseload Highlights. Volume 16 Number 2.

The courts of Harris County, Texas, are presently transitioning from traditional paper files to "E-records" as the official case records. This article describes the evolving methods for data quality management.

ECR Online. Court of Superior Court, Maricopa County, Arizona This system provides access to documents in the Electronic Court Record (ECR). Attorneys are able to access images on cases where they are on the case record, and individual parties will have access to cases where they are the party of record

Electronic Case Filing - a Tutorial . U. S. District Court Through guided practice, using simulated CM/ECF screens and actions, the user learns file pleadings, run reports, and other materials using the CM/ECF system.

Electronic Content Management (ECM) . Oregon Judicial System The ECM Project consists of the implementation of an ECM system and eFiling for all case types. ECM is the primary tool in the achievement of the OJD’s goal of a paperless court environment.

Electronic Court Record Improves Judicial Process. (2009). YouTube Video from Harvard University Ash Institute A video showing the King County Electronic Court Records system features many court staff and judges discussing the challenges and benefits of an E-Court.

E Everything

E-Citation Implementation. North Carolina Court System Citation information is entered into the E-Citation system using a mobile data computer (MDC) in the patrol car that prints out the citation to give to the recipient.

E-Courtroom. The Judicial Branch of Arizona - Maricopa County Superior Court Studies have found that high-tech court proceedings can cut trial time for a civil case by 25 percent. Tour the E-Courtroom.

E-Working Copies. Superior Court Clerk`s Office - King County, Washington E-Working Copies is an optional, value-added service which complements the E-Filing of court documents. E-Working Copies allows users to electronically transmit documents which will then be printed, assembled and ordered into working copies and presented to a judge or commission as instructed.

eCharging Pilot . (September 2009). Report to the Minnesota Supreme Court A report on the success of eCharging pilot in Minnesota.
eCharging Service allows for routing, temporary retention, filing, and printing on demand of all charging documents (including electronic signatures) for all felony, gross misdemeanor and statutory misdemeanor cases.

Electronic Citation and Warning System (eCWS). Judicial Technology and Automation Committee, Indiana Courts Law enforcement agencies use this system to electronically print tickets at the time of a traffic stop.

I-Jury Online Impaneling. Travis County, Texas, District Court Travis County Online Impaneling allows answering of jury summons online. Cost benefits for this application include: reduction of cost of jury pay through avoided appearances (saves $100,000+ per year}; reduction in number of summonses sent because of increased juror participation; and reduction in the number of scheduled impaneling sessions (saves $25,000+ per year in rent).

Simultaneous Paperless Image Retrieval Information Technology (S.P.I.R.I.T.). Clerk of Courts, Miami-Dade County, Florida

The SPIRIT Project (Simultaneous Paperless Image Retrieval Information Technology) is a highly innovative venture intended to launch the clerk's office into the 21st century.

Wake County joins the NCAWARE program. (July 2009). WRAL,com. Raleigh . Durham . Fayetteville, North Carolina Wake County law enforcement, courthouse staff and magistrates began using an electronic arrest warrant system, NCAWARE (North Carolina Arrest Warrant Repository)in July 2009. (Note: See video). NCAWARE was launched in June 2008 in Johnson County. "NCAWARE links police, court data in fighting crime."

Green Courts

Green Courts Initiative for the Circuit Court of Cook County. (December 2008). Chicago Bar Association Task Force

See page 16 - Technology Subcommittee Report. - Specific findings, from this report, indicate that electronic court technologies can materially improve citizens' access to justice while at the same time reduce the amount of paper, vehicle fuel and other natural resources the Cook County justice system consumes.