Results recently released for the 2002 Digital State Survey honored Missouri Case.Net with a Best of Breed Programs Award. The Center for Digital Government and the Progress & Freedom Foundation recognizes and rewards states that are using information technologies strategically in running 21st century government. This year the Center chose Missouri's statewide case management system to showcase the the use of digital technologies by the judicial system, including online access to court opinions.
Now Missouri residents don't have to call their lawyers when they want the most up-to-date information about their court cases. All they have to do is access Case.Net, a statewide case management system that displays public case information by name, case number, filing date and more. And the best part is they can do it right from home.
Thirty-three courts are utilizing Case.Net, and the statewide Fine Collection Center now posts their public information on the system. Citizens can also view Appellate Court Opinions, Missouri Court Rules, Missouri Bar results, job postings and general court information.
The case management software that drives the system is distributed to half of the state's courts and allows users to conduct statewide searches for information. The nature of the system required the establishment of statewide standards that operate under similar conventions for files, file structure and numbering to track cases. "We had to develop a mechanism to identify the standards," said Jim Roggero, director of Information Technology at the Supreme Court. "We put together user groups in the various agencies to identify needs and standard rules. We had the full support from the Supreme Court, Legislature and the governor to draw upon court personnel, judges, clerks, etc."
While working to launch the system, Roggero encountered a lag in the technology and resources to make it work. "In the early stages we were looking for the right mix of hardware and software in order to get the kinds of system response times we needed," he said. "We found that the technology wasn't quite there yet, so we waited it out. About a year ago, the technology enhancements we would need became available. We then moved rapidly to get the courts' case management systems configured to utilize Case.Net operations."
Roggero also added that partnerships developed with suppliers, like Cisco, Lotus and Microsoft helped things along. These corporations stepped forward to assist and provide resources to develop the system without adding additional costs. "These companies came in and worked with us to develop a system that is very unique to the court system," said Ruggero. "They partnered with us because they realized we were laying the groundwork for later use in other states."
The end result of all of this work is a system that is getting incredible recognition from users who are coming in the millions to take advantage of its capabilities. "We're getting about two million requests a month from people utilizing the system," said Roggero. "Users make about 20 transactions while attached to Case.Net, and we now believe about 60 percent of actions are being done over the system. We think we've created a user friendly system that people are definitely using. We've also received a lot of positive feedback on its capabilities."
Roggero also noted that this amazing response came as a nice surprise to him. "I had no idea how quickly the users of court information would start utilizing the system," he said. "I thought it would be more of a slow migration, instead it was almost instantaneous."
Additionally, the broad acceptance has helped to bring the benefits of this system to fruition quicker than anticipated. "It has reduced the amount of traffic of people coming in to have interaction with clerks - and clerks no longer have to draw files and make copies," he said. "And it opens up the entire judicial process."
