The Bench & Bar magazine is published to provide members of the KBA with information that will increase their knowledge of the law, improve the practice of law, and assist in improving the quality of legal services for the citizenry.
Issue link: https://kentuckybenchandbar.epubxp.com/i/132126
BAR NEWS JUDICIAL BRANCH READY TO OVERHAUL OBSOLETE CASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM WITH PASSAGE OF HOUSE BILL 238 NEW TECHNOLOGY WILL SET KENTUCKY STATE COURTS ON PATH TO eFILING "A new case management system will transform the way Kentucky courts do business," Chief Justice of Kentucky John D. Minton Jr. said. "With our courtrooms handling nearly 1 million cases each year, almost every citizen is affected by the work of the Judicial Branch. I can't think of any other capital technology project that will have such a positive impact on so many people statewide." Chief Justice of Kentucky John D. Minton Jr. The Judicial Branch has cleared a major hurdle in its plans to develop a sophisticated court case management system and bring eFiling to Kentucky with the signing of House Bill 238. The bill authorizes the Judicial Branch to issue $28.1 million in bonds to replace Kentucky's aging court case management system. The General Assembly passed HB 238 on March 12 and Gov. Steve Beshear signed it into law on March 22. "A new case management system will transform the way Kentucky courts do business," Chief Justice of Kentucky John D. Minton Jr. said. "With our courtrooms handling nearly 1 million cases each year, almost every citizen is affected by the work of the Judicial Branch. I can't think of any other capital technology project that will have such a positive impact on so many people statewide. "I commend the General Assembly for rallying around the Judicial Branch to pass this legislation and the governor for signing it. The House graciously held several hearings before passing the bill unanimously and the Senate saved the bill at the last minute before we ran out of time. Thanks to their diligence and support, the legislation passed both chambers unanimously." The Judicial Branch's current case management system is running on 25-year-old technology and 10-year-old programming and is at risk for failure. The current system maintains separate databases for the trial courts in 120 counties and both appellate courts. "The system is functionally and technically obsolete," Chief Justice Minton said. "The tools used to maintain it became unsupported in 2008, leaving the entire state court database in a precarious situation. Replacing the system becomes even more urgent when you consider that our current technology cannot accommodate electronic filing and electronic records. That leaves Kentucky falling further and further behind the mainstream of court technology." 54 The new system will consolidate databases and give them the ability to interact with each other. This will reduce errors, eliminate manual and redundant processes, and provide the ability to track a person through the court system. The Judicial Branch will B&B; • 05.13 be better able to secure current and historical court data and provide information that the Executive and Legislative branches, state agencies and justice partners rely on to carry out their daily business. The new system will also make it possible for Kentucky to institute eFiling. "Kentucky is ready to join other state courts and the federal courts in adopting eFiling," Chief Justice Minton said. "We've been laying the groundwork for this project for months and are ready to move quickly now that bonding has been approved. Our goal is to begin testing eFiling in several parts of the state before the end of the year." The Judicial Branch will use $3.23 million annually in agency funds to pay the 10year debt service on the new case management system. "Under the HB 238 plan, payment on the debt service will not require any new tax dollars or a direct appropriation," Chief Justice Minton said. "Issuing bonds will let the Judicial Branch replace its case management system in a way that will have the least negative impact on the state budget." The Kentucky Bar Association was an important supporter of HB 238, he said. "We want to give attorneys and justice partners better access to court case information," Chief Justice Minton said. "The Administrative Office of the Courts recently began offering a new application called CourtNet 2.0 to KBA members. It provides online access to Kentucky civil and criminal cases and is a huge improvement from what we provided before. CourtNet 2.0 is a technological milestone for the practice of law in Kentucky and one of the first of many advances we'll be making in court technology." To read Chief Justice Minton's invitation to KBA members regarding CourtNet 2.0, please see the following page. The chief justice of Kentucky is the administrative head of the Judicial Branch and responsible for its operation. The AOC provides administrative support to the state court system, which includes nearly 3,300 employees and 403 elected justices, judges and circuit court clerks. The AOC also executes the Judicial Branch budget.