The latest Indiana Court Times cover story is all about JTAC’s Odyssey deployment and a look back over the last ten years of trial court technology.  The story reminds us why Indiana chose not to undertake a standards-based approach to case management and explains why Odyssey is the right fit for Indiana. Read the story on the new Court Times blog.

Case Study: Hamilton County Odyssey Deployment
Watch a video featuring local Hamilton County staff before, during, and after the implementation of Odyssey.

On December 8, JTAC made its final 2009 presentation to the monthly stakeholders meeting held at our office in Indianapolis. The presentation highlights the milestones in court technology that have been achieved this year, including the continuing implementation of the Odyssey case management system in the counties as well as enhancements to the software application, and advances related to JTAC’s many other technology projects.

View presentation slides

On Monday, September 21 the master jury list for 2010 will be made available on INcite. Judges at this week’s annual Judicial Conference were notified of this, and their conference materials include a form to request access to the data. Judges will be able to indicate the individual(s) who will have access for the data for their court and/or county. As in the past, vendors are not provided direct access to INcite, and JTAC is available to help authorized users download and export the data or create their jury pools in the JTAC Jury Management System.

If you have questions about jury pool data or the JTAC JMS, please contact Jill Russell at 317.234.2734 or jrussell@jtac.IN.gov.

Earlier this week, JTAC Directory Mary DePrez traveled to Madison in Jefferson County to deliver a project update to those in attendance.

Launch the presentation

JTAC participated in two sessions during the Annual Conference of Circuit Court Clerks held June 9^th though June 11^th in Indianapolis.  During the first session, Mary DePrez, Annette Page, and Keith Berry of JTAC were joined by Becca McDonough, Angie Laux and Dawn Chowning with the Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV).  This session covered the SR 16s process between the courts and the BMV.  Keith provided a live demonstration of the new enhancements added to the BMV/INcite application developed by JTAC.  A question and answer session followed the presentation.

During JTAC’s second session, Mary DePrez and Donna Edgar provided information about the Protection Order Registry, the electronic tax warrant application, jury pool and jury management system, and the marriage license application.  Donna presented an overview of Odyssey from a Clerk’s perspective with an in-depth analysis regarding how financials are handled in Odyssey.

View the presentation

Some people have a hard time with change, but we are confident most of you won’t have any trouble with the improvements coming to INcite this year.  As part of a project to rebuild INcite using more current technical specifications, we have completely revamped the look and feel of the site to provide a more user-friendly experience.

Here's a glimpse at what the new INcite looks like. Click for a better view.

Currently, the Department of Child Services (DCS)/Probation application is the only application running on the new INcite, which is accessed from https://mycourts.IN.gov.  On Tuesday, February 24, the Protection Order Registry (POR) will be making the move.  If you are a POR user, check https://incite.IN.gov for instructions on how to login to the new INcite.

We’ll be moving each application (i.e., BMV SR-16 filing, e-Tax Warrants, Marriage License e-File, etc.) to the new INcite one at a time, so if you use multiple applications on INcite, there will be a period of time that you will need to access both the old site and the new site.

We have also built in new functionality to INcite, which may require some action on your part as users of the system.  Here’s a rundown of the major changes:

• Cleaner look and feel that is far less cluttered and easier to navigate.
• Each application will run in a separate window allowing you to view more detail on the screen.
• Desktop icon for one-click access to the site.
• Online reset for forgotten passwords.

Because there are times when JTAC must be able to contact users through INcite, each user will be asked to provide a unique email address and a phone number, and you must have a unique email address to reset your password online.  So for users that share email addresses or don’t have one at all, options are available to you, but you will be required to call the JTAC help desk to reset your password.

If you need help or wish to provide feedback about the new INcite, please contact our help desk at help@jtac.in.gov or 1-800-275-5822 CORRECTION: 1-888-275-5822.

Eight staffers from the courts in Clark County recently attended a jury management training session at JTAC’s Training Center in Indianapolis.  Terri Datillo, a Court Reporter/Bailiff in Clark Superior I, coordinated the visit so that the staff-five of whom are new jury administrators-could receive training on JTAC’s Jury Management System (JMS).

JTAC’s Jill Russell, JMS project coordinator, said the staff got a lot out of the training, and that it was particularly helpful to them because of efforts by Ms. Datillo.  Terri provided copies of handouts from a November Jury Managers Conference sponsored by the Indiana Judicial Center and coordinated by Judge Barbara Harcourt and Michelle Goodman.  She also drew participants’ attention to the Jury Rules and commented on Clark County’s procedures prior to the Statewide Jury Pool Project.

If your court uses JTAC’s Jury Management System and is in need of additional or ongoing training, contact Jill Russell at jrussell@jtac.in.gov or 317-234-2734.

JTAC staff visited the Knox County Courts last week to demonstrate the INcite JMS application and help determine the feasibility of using it in 2009. Staff from all the courts attended training and they were pleased to see how much time and effort the system would save. Because the jury pools were randomly selected without using the JMS, JTAC is investigating how to recreate identical jury pools in the JMS.

Visits to St. Joseph and Clark counties are planned for later this week.

2008 – Year in Review. On December 9, JTAC made its final 2008 presentation to the monthly stakeholders meeting held at our office in Indianapolis.

The presentation highlights the milestones in court technology that have been reached this year, including the beginning of the second phase of Odyssey CMS implementation, the growing use of the public access website, new modules and enhancements to Odyssey, and advances related to JTAC’s many other technology projects.

Launch the presentation.

JTAC staff visits courts all over Indiana, and whether they are there to install the Odyssey Case Management System, e-tickets, our Protection Order Registry or another program, they look at how court and clerk staff do their jobs. As we work with local courts, we often learn how working on one issue can help solve another.

Here’s just one example: JTAC is partnering with the Indiana Public Defender Council (IPDC) to develop a statewide Public Defender System. Initial meetings have identified about 150 requirements. We’re still in the early stages, but our goal is to provide an application that meets these requirements and seamlessly interfaces with Odyssey. This will eliminate several data entry tasks and enhance information sharing.

Last week, as we worked to deploy Odyssey in DeKalb County, we learned Public Defenders there have historically had access to both the current case management system and the document imaging system. They could pull up and print court orders remotely from their offices. We have added this functionality to the list of requirements to consider as we go forward with the statewide project.

If your county has a process you want to share, please tell JTAC!  Email us at help@jtac.in.gov with “Local Process” in the subject line.

Mary DePrez,
Director and Counsel for Trial Court Technology