NCSC introduces CourtMD, an online court diagnostic tool

Helps court managers gauge what they can do to improve operations

Williamsburg, VA (February 17, 2014) – The National Center for State Courts is launching a first-of-its kind court diagnostic tool – CourtMD  – to help court managers identify problem areas and find solutions for improving their court’s operations. The initial roll out of CourtMD addresses caseflow management, the heart of court administration.

The CourtMD tool asks court managers to answer a series of questions about their court and their case type of concern. For example:

• Has your court adopted overall time standards for criminal/civil cases?
• Are you familiar with the basic concepts of caseflow management?
• Has your court decided which caseflow management performance measure to use?

Once all questions are answered, CourtMD points court managers to a set of solutions tailored for their situation: “Based on answers you provided, the following solutions are suggested by our experts.”

These solutions comprise the resources and tools most likely to address key elements of caseflow management that need improvement in their courts.

"For decades court leaders have struggled with identifying issues and finding solutions to those problems. CourtMD provides courts the opportunity to do both by entering a set of 'symptoms.' This resource brings the best information of the National Center for State Courts right into the hands of court leaders when they need it most,” said David Slayton, Administrative Director, Texas Office of Court Administration.

Check out the first module in CourtMD – www.ncsc.org/courtmd.  A work in progress, user feedback will help improve future iterations of the tool.

The National Center for State Courts, headquartered in Williamsburg, Va., is a nonprofit court reform organization dedicated to improving the administration of justice by providing leadership and service to the state courts. Founded in 1971 by the Conference of Chief Justices and Chief Justice of the United States Warren E. Burger, NCSC provides education, training, technology, management, and research services to the nation’s state courts