The District Clerk Criminal Courts Digital Project

1. The District Clerk Criminal Courts Digital Project

2. The District Clerk manages more than two million records at three locations and a warehouse. Paper records are expensive to maintain, easily lost and damaged, and slow to retrieve complicating the integrity of both open and closed cases. The Criminal Courts Digital Project is Vital for More Efficient Records Management and Retrieval

3. Digital Courts Vision • Judicial process in the Dallas county criminal courts will be substantially paperless. • Imaging systems will replace paper-based filing system. • The judiciary will be able to modify documents electronically from the bench. • Remote access to criminal case records for the judiciary, criminal bar and the District Attorney. • Instantaneous electronic retrieval of case documents and production of copies for the public.

4. The Electronic Document Mangement System • Judges, the criminal bar and the public will be using a sophisticated electronic document management system called OnBase • OnBase will queue criminal court documents to the processing areas within the district clerk’s office and the court. • Until electronic document preparation is perfected in AIS, case records beginning with the indictment and PCA, bond information, pleadings and motions are scanned as they are filed. • Docket entries will be perfected through the use of OnBase E-Form and queuing utilities. • E-signatures will be developed and perfected for complete paperless processing.

5. Additional OnBase Benefits • Will provide attorneys remote access to the electronic case record from their offices with a subscription service in development.

6. Additional OnBase Benefits • Provides for enhanced and timely public and media access to court records.

7. Additional OnBase Benefits • Provides for central document control of records and reduces the incidence of failed expungement and non-disclosure by eliminating multiple paper copies within the county.

8. Tentative Schedule forDigital Conversion • The pilot court, the 283rd Judicial District Court, Judge Richard Magnis, is go live as a fully paperless court after all pending case files weree imaged during the weekend of August 17, 2009.

9. Tentative schedule for digital conversion • Analysis and deployment of ‘E-Form’ function and implementation of clerk/court e-business process. • Additional hardware to be briefed for the Dallas county commissioners court by September 30th. • Training for affected non-court and clerk staff to be effected through November 2009. • Simultaneous conversion of remaining 16 criminal courts and the Drug Court by January 1, 2010 depending on the availability of hardware and success of the training program.

10. What to Expect • Business will be conducted as usual but there will no longer be a paper court file. • A computer will be available in each court for attorneys in the defense workroom, hallway, and clerk’s counter.

11. What to Expect • Judges will have access to OnBase from the bench and the Assistant D.A.’s from their offices at the courts. • Current paper-flow procedures and processes will remain the same, just result in an imaged document as the permanent Court record.

12. What to Expect • The clerks will image all incoming documents to their court and attach to the electronic case file. • Pass-slips will continue to be handled through the coordinators. • Magistrate Court procedures will be converted to paperless processing.

13. How will this benefit you? • No more waiting around while the clerk tries to find your file • No more waiting around in the Records department when you need conformed copies. • No more missing or misplaced documents and delays.

14. How will this benefit you? • Judges, the District Attorney and probation officers will be able to access electronic records from their offices, enabling “pop-in” assistance. • Remote off-site access to case records will become available to judges, the criminal bar and the District Attorney.

15. Time for Q & A