Court Technology Bulletin
http://www.ncsconline.org/D_TECH/CTB2
Copyright 2007


Text file created: Fri, 5 Sep 2008 16:46:25 EST

MORE UTAH JUSTICE COURT RECORDS AVAILABLE ONLINE
Posted on 9/4/2008
This posting also available at http://www.ncsconline.org/d_tech/ctb2/view_cs_cont.asp?NCSC_CMS_CONTENT_ID=2382


<p>A press release from the Utah Administrative Office of the Courts issued on September 3, 2008 announces: The Administrative Office of the Courts has  announced the addition of 40 justice courts to the state court's  XChange service. XChange is a database of court case information that  is available publicly for a monthly fee.&nbsp; <p>The XChange service provides case information&mdash;referred to as the  court docket&mdash;and includes information such as when and what documents  have been filed in the case, when and what hearings have been held or  are scheduled in the case, when and what judgments have been entered in  the case, and the outcome of completed cases. Justice courts hear  primarily class B and C misdemeanors, infractions, and small claims  cases.  <p> &ldquo;With the addition of justice courts to the XChange service, court  users have access to case information in one central location,&rdquo; said  Utah State Court Administrator Dan Becker. Prior to the database  expansion, accessing Justice Court case information required court  users to contact each individual Justice Court.  <p>The XChange database is used daily by government agencies, law  enforcement, title companies, law firms, media outlets, and others to  track the status of court cases. District Court case information has  been available through the XChange service for more than 10 years.  During the 2008 Legislative Session, a law was enacted that requires  all justice courts to use a common case management system by the year  2011. As each Justice Court converts to the court's common case  management system, the XChange service will automatically add that  court's case information.  <p>For more information, go to(http://www.utcourts.gov" title="Utah State Courts)  www.utcourts.gov. 



REQUEST FOR COMMENT ON PROPOSED COURTOOLS STANDARD
Posted on 8/29/2008
This posting also available at http://www.ncsconline.org/d_tech/ctb2/view_cs_cont.asp?NCSC_CMS_CONTENT_ID=2381


<p>The Joint Technology Committee (JTC) of the Conference of  State Court Administrators (COSCA) and the National Association for Court  Management (NACM) solicits review of, and comments on proposed standards for CourTools Information Exchanges  <p>CourTools Information Exchanges<br />   <br />   CourTools is a set of ten trial court performance measures  developed by the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) to provide court  managers a balanced perspective on court operations.&nbsp; The NCSC subsequently developed Global  Information Exchange Package Documentation sets (IEPD's) representing standards  for uploading data relating to specific CourTools measures.&nbsp; IEPD's have been developed for four of the  ten CourTools measures.&nbsp; For each  CourTools measure, two separate IEPD's were developed to share data between  local courts and a state authority (Stage 1) and between the state authority  and a national authority (Stage 2).&nbsp; The CourTools  IEPD's may be downloaded from the NCSC website at (/D_Tech/gjxdm/#CourTools) http://www.ncsconline.org/D_Tech/gjxdm/#CourTools.<br />  <p>Direct download links for each IEPD:    *(/D_Tech/gjxdm/CourTools/Measure2-Stage1v3.zip) Measure 2 &ndash;  Clearance Rates, Stage 1    *(/D_Tech/gjxdm/CourTools/Measure2-Stage2v3.zip) Measure 2 &ndash;  Clearance Rates, Stage 2    *(/D_Tech/gjxdm/CourTools/Measure3-Stage1v3.zip) Measure 3 &ndash;  Time to Disposition, Stage 1    *(/D_Tech/gjxdm/CourTools/Measure3-Stage2v3.zip) Measure 3 &ndash;  Time to Disposition, Stage 2    *(/D_Tech/gjxdm/CourTools/Measure4-Stage1v3.zip) Measure 4 &ndash;  Age of Active Pending Caseload, Stage 1    *(/D_Tech/gjxdm/CourTools/Measure4-Stage2v3.zip) Measure 4 &ndash;  Age of Active Pending Caseload, Stage 2    *(/D_Tech/gjxdm/CourTools/Measure5-Stage1v3.zip) Measure 5 &ndash;  Trial Date Certainty, Stage 1    *(/D_Tech/gjxdm/CourTools/Measure5-Stage2v3.zip) Measure 5 &ndash;  Trial Date Certainty, Stage 2<br />     <p>Please direct any comments regarding the proposed  standard(s) to NCSC via electronic mail to Paul Embley ((mailto:pembley@ncsc.org) pembley@ncsc.org).<br /><br />   The review period for the above proposed standard(s) will  end <strong>October 31, 2008</strong>.&nbsp; Comments regarding a &ldquo;proposed standard&rdquo; must  be received by the end of the review period to assure consideration in advance  of JTC's decision on approval as a &ldquo;recommended standard&rdquo;.



ACCESS TO JUSTICE TRAINING SET
Posted on 8/24/2008
This posting also available at http://www.ncsconline.org/d_tech/ctb2/view_cs_cont.asp?NCSC_CMS_CONTENT_ID=2379


<p class="MsoNormal) <font face="Arial" size="2) <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial)  </span><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3) Rachel Medina at the Center for Access to Justice and Technology has announce they will be holding online training. <p class="MsoNormal) <font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3) *New User Training intended for new users and those that would like a refresher on the basics is scheduled for September 11th. <p class="MsoNormal) <font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3) *Advanced Training is scheduled for September 18th.<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3) For more information see the(http://a2j_author_blog.classcaster.org/blog" title="A2J Author Blog)  A2J Author Blog or contact:<br /><p class="MsoNormal) <font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3) Rachel R Medina<br />Manager<br />Center for Access to Justice &amp; Technology<br />Chicago-Kent College of Law<br />(mailto:rmedina@kentlaw.edu) rmedina@kentlaw.edu



NIEM POSTS DOCUMENTS FOR REVIEW
Posted on 8/24/2008
This posting also available at http://www.ncsconline.org/d_tech/ctb2/view_cs_cont.asp?NCSC_CMS_CONTENT_ID=2380


 <p>NIEM User Guide and High-Level Version Architecture (HLVA) Posted for Public Comment <p>The NIEM User Guide and High-Level Version Architecture (HLVA) document have been posted to the NIEM web site on the 'Downloads' page under the 'Technical Documents' section. Each document is open for a public review period which ends September 15, 2008.<br />     <br />   (http://www.niem.gov/pdf/NIEM_User_Guide.pdf) NIEM User Guide<br /> (http://www.niem.gov/pdf/NIEM_HLVA.pdf) NIEM High-Level Version Architecture <p>NIEM is the National Information Exchange Model, is a partnership of the U.S. Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security. It is designed to develop, disseminate and support enterprise-wide information exchange standards and processes that can enable jurisdictions to effectively share critical information in emergency situations, as well as support the day-to-day operations of agencies throughout the nation.



TESTING VIRTUAL MACHINES
Posted on 8/8/2008
This posting also available at http://www.ncsconline.org/d_tech/ctb2/view_cs_cont.asp?NCSC_CMS_CONTENT_ID=2378


Recently I received a new laptop computer.&nbsp; The new laptop is very nice with a wide-format screen, 2 gigabytes of RAM, and a big 160 gigabyte hard drive.&nbsp; And since my old laptop was still doing fine I decided it was time to experiment with Virtual Machine (VM) software.&nbsp; For those who might not have kept up on VM technology, simply said it is software that lets one emulate various computer operating systems such as Microsoft Vista or XP, Linux, UNIX, or even MS-DOS on a host computer.&nbsp; In other words, one creates a &ldquo;virtual&rdquo; computer using software within a host system.&nbsp; For a much more complete explanation of VM software see: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_machine" title="Wikipedia Virtual Machine) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_machine<br /><br />I've been testing (http://www.sun.com/" title="Sun Microsystems) Sun's virtual machine software called (http://www.virtualbox.org/" title="VirtualBox) VirtualBox.&nbsp; But of course there are many other options to explore such as industry leader (http://www.vmware.com/" title="VMware) VMware as well as (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/virtualpc/default.mspx" title="Microsoft Virtual PC ) Microsoft's Virtual PC 2007 software.&nbsp; Apple Mac users have (http://www.parallels.com/" title="Parallels) Parallels Desktop and (http://www.vmware.com/products/fusion/" title="VMware Fusion) VMware Fusion to choose from.&nbsp; An excellent list of different VM software is posted on Wikipedia at: <br /><br />(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_virtual_machines" title="Wikipedia VM Comparison) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_virtual_machines <br /><br />I have posted (http://ctl.ncsc.dni.us/photos/virtual-machines.jpg" title="VM photo) a picture here to show you that I was able to load MSDOS, OpenSUSE Linux, and Vista on top of the installed Windows XP on my laptop.&nbsp; Now to be realistic, I would need more RAM (chip) memory in my machine if I were to run all of these are the same time.&nbsp; But it does seem to do the job quite nicely, and has the advantage of being free to use.&nbsp; I thought you might enjoy the picture. &nbsp;<br /><br />Now why are VM's useful?&nbsp; I can think of three reasons off the top of my head.&nbsp; First, the obvious one is if there is a particular piece of software that only available on a particular operating system (OS), one can install that OS (legally licensed of course just like my Vista software) and then install the application.<br /><br />Second, the ability to run older software programs to retrieve data could be particularly useful.&nbsp; One might notice in the picture, my old CMS from the 80's in Arizona is running in the MS-DOS window.&nbsp; Therefore, if I had a court's data from that system, I could run search and run reports without needing to convert the data.&nbsp; It is interesting to note that there is as project is building VMs for older minicomputer systems of the past: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIMH " title="SIMH) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIMH<br /><br />A third reason is to be able to test software on different applications in &ldquo;clean&rdquo; OS environments.&nbsp; One can also emulate client / server networks or browser / server networks within a single machine.&nbsp; Many VM's have the ability to create &ldquo;snapshots&rdquo; of a system that allows a baseline configuration from which new software or configurations can be tested.&nbsp; And if the approach doesn't work; no problem, delete it and try again.&nbsp; In the near future I am going to build a Linux client working with a Microsoft server to learn the best way to configure such a system.<br /><br />Using VM?&nbsp; Let us know and we'll post your story.<br /><br /><br />



COURT TECHNOLOGY BULLETIN ARCHIVE ONLINE
Posted on 7/21/2008
This posting also available at http://www.ncsconline.org/d_tech/ctb2/view_cs_cont.asp?NCSC_CMS_CONTENT_ID=2376


Last week we received welcome news that our <a href=/D_KIS/index.html title=NCSC>NCSC Knowledge and Information Services team had imaged all of the printed issues of the Court Technology Bulletin in <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PDF title=PDF>PDF files. The Bulletin was issued in printed format from 1989 to 2003. It is interesting to see how technology has changed and improved over that time span. You can also see how good or bad I was at making technology trend predictions in my articles about the huge <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comdex title=Comdex>COMDEX computer expositions . The index to the CTB issues is located at: <a href=/WC/Publications/Summary/CTBIndex.htm title=CTB>http://www.ncsconline.org/WC/Publications/Summary/CTBIndex.htm <br />



US FEDERAL COURT TEST ONLINE DIGITAL AUDIO RECORDINGS
Posted on 7/17/2008
This posting also available at http://www.ncsconline.org/d_tech/ctb2/view_cs_cont.asp?NCSC_CMS_CONTENT_ID=2375


The June, 2008 edition of <a href=http://www.uscourts.gov/ttb/index.html title=The Third Branch>The Third Branch newsletter from the <a href=http://www.uscourts.gov/index.html title=US Federal Courts>US Federal Courts contains an article titled: <a href=http://www.uscourts.gov/ttb/200806/article06.cfm title=Digital Audio Recordings>Pilot Project Update: Digital Audio Recordings Online. The article explains: quotIn a pilot project that began last August, five federal courts are docketing some digital audio recordings to Case Management/Electronic Case Files CM/ECF systems to make the audio files available in the same way written files have long been available on the Internet. The three other courtsnbsp are the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Maine, and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Alabama.quot The article also notes: quotA major concern is assuring that personal information including Social Security and financial account numbers, dates of birth, and names of minor childrennot be available on any online digital audio recording. The Judiciary39s privacy policy restricts publication of such information. Each of the pilot courts warns lawyers and litigants in a variety of ways that they can, and should, request that recorded proceedings that include information covered by the privacy policy, or other sensitive matters, not be posted.quot



US VIRGIN ISLANDS COURT ISSUES RFP
Posted on 7/15/2008
This posting also available at http://www.ncsconline.org/d_tech/ctb2/view_cs_cont.asp?NCSC_CMS_CONTENT_ID=2374


<p>The Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands has issued a Request for Proposal RFP that seeks an Appellate Case Management solution that incorporates Efiling and Document Management capabilities. The RFP is posted at the following web page: <a href=http://www.visupremecourt.org/Administrative_Services/RFPs title=USVI>http://www.visupremecourt.org/Administrative_Services/RFPs<p>The Intent to Bid letter is due at 4:00 p.m., Atlantic Standard Time on July 24, 2008 and Proposals are due by 4:00 p.m. Atlantic Standard Time on August 18, 2008.



TEXAS JUDICIAL COMMISSION ADOPTS FUNCTIONAL MODEL
Posted on 7/10/2008
This posting also available at http://www.ncsconline.org/d_tech/ctb2/view_cs_cont.asp?NCSC_CMS_CONTENT_ID=2373


<p>In a press release: On June 27, 2008, The Supreme Court of Texas Judicial Commission for Children, Youth and Families formally adopted a functional requirements reference model to address the special case management needs of courts handling   child protection dependency cases. The reference model consists   of a number of web pages presented in an interactive format, providing overviews   of the court process, timelines, a feature to allow deep drilldown into the particulars of each subprocess, and detailed descriptions of the data requirements.  <p>Culminating nearly two years of work, the functional requirements reference   model was developed to provide developers of court case management software   an authoritative set of requirements for the creation of specialized modules   of court software systems. The Office of Court Administration, headed by Carl   Reynolds, undertook the project in 2005 after receiving Court Improvement Program   grant funding, which was given to the Supreme Court of Texas by the U.S. Department   of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families.  <p>In Texas and most other states, child protection cases must follow tightly controlled timelines. The cases may have multiple participants, with the judge   acting in a problemsolving role. The reference model may be the most comprehensive   description ever created to address the special needs of courts handling child   abuse and neglect cases. Judges, clerks, attorneys, and other stakeholders   from around Texas worked closely with technologists to identify almost all   aspects of child protection case management. This is not a system, but   a set of blueprints that will enable any software developer to understand the   unique court process utilized in this type of case to write the software, said   Reynolds.  <p>The Supreme Court Permanent Judicial Commission for Children, Youth and Families   is chaired by Justice Harriet OrsquoNeill of the Supreme Court of Texas.   Judge Darlene Byrne of Travis County chaired the Technology Committee, which   oversaw the development of the functional requirements reference model. It   is available on the Commission website, at <a href=http://www.courts.state.tx.us/oca/texdeck/frd/TexDECK%20Functional%20Requirements.htm title=Texas>http://www.courts.state.tx.us/oca/texdeck/frd/TexDECK%20Functional%20Requirements.htm .<br />



COURT TECH BULLETIN HIT WITH SQL INJECTION ATTACK
Posted on 7/7/2008
This posting also available at http://www.ncsconline.org/d_tech/ctb2/view_cs_cont.asp?NCSC_CMS_CONTENT_ID=2372


<p>On approximately June 21, 2008, the Court Technology Bulletin website was   taken down with an <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SQL_injection>SQL   virus code injection attack. We apologize for all for any   inconvenience   that   this   caused.   This site has been repaired and further security measures instituted. As a   result, we also lost all of the articles that we posted for the month of June   1. A summary of some of these articles are posted below. <p>nbsp <p><strong>Illinois Courts Announce EBusiness Initiative 6/10/08</strong> <p><a href=http://www.state.il.us/court/media/PressRel/2008/052308.pdf>In a     press release, Chief Justice Robert R. Thomas of the Illinois Supreme   Court announced on May 23, 2008 a quotwideranging plan to build a technological   infrastructure that would link electronically all the courts in the state39s   23 judicial circuits and 102 counties.quot For more information, an EBusiness     in the Illinois Judiciary website has been posted at: <a href=http://www.state.il.us/court/ebusiness/default.asp>http://www.state.il.us/court/ebusiness/default.asp <p>nbsp <p><strong>Vermont Courts Announce Case Management System RFP 6/13/08</strong> <p><a href=http://www.vermontjudiciary.org/default.aspx>The State of Vermont     Judiciary announced the posting of a Request for Proposal   RFP for a new, consolidated, statewide courts case management, document   management, and Efiling solution  VCase. The RFP and Attachment files are   posted on the Vermont BusinessToBusiness website at: <a href=http://www.vermontbusinessregistry.com/BidPreview.aspx?BidID=5627>http://www.vermontbusinessregistry.com/BidPreview.aspx?BidID=5627 <p>nbsp <p><strong>Nebraska Starts Civil EFiling 6/20/08</strong> <p>In a press release, quotthe Nebraska Administrative Office of the Courts AOC,   in collaboration with http://www.Nebraska.gov, has launched a new online system   for attorneys to file new civil cases and to make subsequent filings on open cases. Attorneys who subscribe to http://www.Nebraska.gov are eligible to use   the Efiling system. There are no addditional fees to file a case online. The   normal court fees for filing cases are transferred electronically from the   attorney39s account, to the court of filing.quot The   Nebraska Lawyer Magazine39s <a href=/cms/admin/www.nebar.com/pdfs/nelawyer/2008/MAY08/0508c.pdf>Bar   Bytes column for May, 2008 by William E. Olson contains additional information on the new system.