Monday, September 28, 2020
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Judicial Council to Devote $25 Million to Technology
By a MetNews Staff Writer
The Judicial Council on Friday allocated $25 million of the judiciary’s budget for the modernization of court operations.
The policy-making body earmarked the funds for 13 projects. As set forth in the recommendation of the Technology Committee, they are:
• Remote Appearance Technology
• Digital Evidence
• Automated Messaging (notifications and reminders)
• Data Driven Forms
• Digitizing Documents
• Virtual Customer Service Center
• Trial Court Digital Services
• Statewide Case Index
• Judicial Branch Office of Information Security
• Next Generation Data Center and Cloud Solutions
• California Courts Protective Order Registry Mobile Access and Modernization
• Building a Digital Ecosystem
• Data Governance
The automated messaging proposal entails the creation of a statewide online reminder system which would utilize emailing and texting to provide reminders relating to court appearances and jury duty. The Virtual Customer Service Centers would add to publicly accessible court websites online and live chat tools.
San Bernardino Superior Court Judge Kyle Brodie, who chairs the committee, commented:
“These initiatives are being driven largely by pandemic concerns, but it’s also part of an overall modernization plan that’s been in place for a long time. When developing the list of projects, we made sure we got input from the courts so we knew these efforts are feasible and can show some real gains this year.”
The Judicial Council also voted to expand mandatory anti-bias and discrimination education for judges.
Copyright 2020, Metropolitan News Company