Jennings County: from the old (the Vernon Commons) to the new (Digital Recording Equipment)
September 13, 2010 by Editor
While Indiana was still mostly a roughhewn wilderness, forward-looking citizens of Jennings County were far-sighted enough to create the first public park dedicated to children in the county seat of Vernon—in 1815, one year before Indiana became a state.
Continuing with that kind of visionary thinking, the Jennings County judiciary has installed state-of-the-art court reporting equipment [...]
Digital Copiers and Hard Drives: Keeping a Lid on Confidential Information
September 13, 2010 by Editor
Your court staff is very careful to redact data deemed confidential by Administrative Rule 9 and to insist that all litigants properly file on green paper those pleadings that contain confidential information that must be kept private. When they need to make copies they do so carefully, keeping protected information out of the public [...]
Marshall County Courts Launch State-of-the-Art Video Teleconferencing Technology
June 16, 2010 by Editor
Under the leadership of Marshall Superior Court #2 Judge Dean A. Colvin and with the support and cooperation of the Marshall County Sheriff Jon VanVactor, the County Commissioners, the County Council, the IT Department, Marshall Circuit Court Judge Curtis D. Palmer and Marshall Superior Court #1 Judge Robert O. Bowen, Marshall County launched its new [...]
One Less Obstacle for Abuse Victims Seeking Court Intervention
May 5, 2010 by Editor
Victims of violence in Indiana can now file petitions seeking court protection orders electronically from the privacy and safety of a victim advocate’s office or a domestic violence shelter. Over 250 victim advocates in more than 79 counties have been given access and trained to use a new Advocate Access site for the statewide Protection [...]
Cell Phones, Smart Phones, FLSA and the Court Employer
February 28, 2010 by Editor
A Look at One Potential Hidden Cost of Technology—
Cell phones have changed our daily lives in many ways. No more concerns about not being able to get a message to family members when you will be late. No more exorbitant add-ons to hotel bills because you have to make a long distance call. No more [...]
Revisiting the Vision
February 28, 2010 by Editor
The state of Indiana trial court technology ten years after JTAC’s founding and a reminder about how we got here in the first place—
Two years into the deployment of Indiana’s uniform statewide Odyssey case management system (CMS), 51 courts in 19 counties are up and running, managing more than 22% of the state’s caseload. Now, [...]
Cleaning Out Your Email Boxes
October 31, 2009 by Editor
[Editor’s Note: This article is provided as an example of best practices in the Information Technology (IT) area. Administrative Rule 9(G)(1)(h) excludes from public access all personal notes and e-mail, and deliberative material, of judges, jurors, court staff, and judicial agencies, and information recorded in personal data assistants (PDA’s) or organizers and personal calendars.]
Courts have [...]
10 More Courts Using Odyssey
April 30, 2009 by Editor
The Highest-Volume Court in Indiana
With over 200,000 infraction and ordinance violation cases filed in 2008, the Marion County Violations Bureau (Traffic Court) adjudicates more cases than any other court in the state. In February 2009, following many months of planning sessions and training classes, the Traffic Court began using Odyssey, the statewide case management system [...]
Listserv for Court Administrators
October 31, 2008 by Editor
How many court administrators does it take to screw in a light bulb? Old joke, new answer—as many as you need to get the job done. The development of the court administrator’s listserv allows for an entire group of experts to help one person solve his problem. A listserv is a networking tool that allows [...]
Court Technology and Mos Maiorum: “We have always done it that way.”
October 31, 2008 by Editor
How many times do you walk away scratching your head when you hear this explanation given for the use of a questionable procedure? Well, you may not know it, but there is an historical reference. The Roman doctrine of mos maiorum means adhering to the legacy of usages and systems and organization inherited from the [...]
