The 21 Century is
Here!
The Clerk’s Digital Courts Project
The Criminal Courts Digital Project
is Vital for More Efficient Records
Management and Retrieval
• The clerks manage more
than 4 million court
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.
Digital Courts Vision
The Digital Courts Project fulfills the
objective of Vision 1 of the Dallas County
Strategic Plan by:
•Using innovation to modify procedures
to increase accuracy and efficiency
•Initiating new policies and procedures
that make service delivery customer
based
•Streamlining the clerk’s workforce for
optimum efficiency of operation
The Digital Courts Project will put Dallas
County on the leading edge of
technological innovation. Our goal is full
a fully digital platform for judicial process
within 10 years.
The “OnBase” Electronic Document
Management System
• Judges, the Bar and the public will be using
OnBase to access the records of the court.
• OnBase fully replaces the old paper file in an
efficient, east to manage digital format.
• OnBase is linked directly to the Civil and Family
court case management system known as Odyssey.
The “OnBase” Electronic Document
Management System
• OnBase will also provide access to criminal court
records and will be integrated into any future
criminal court case management system.
• The courts can continue to operate normally even
if the Odyssey case management system is
disabled.
• OnBase provides a digital signature utility which
will allow electronic documents to be signed from
the bench or by defendants.
What Does an eDocument Look Like?
Additional OnBase Benefits
• Will provide attorneys
remote access to the
electronic case record
from their offices.
Pilot testing is currently
underway and full
implementation in May
2010.
Additional OnBase Benefits
• WiFi access in the
courtroom will be
developed to allow
the Bar to access
court records
digitally without
bringing paper files
to the courthouse.
Additional OnBase Benefits
• Provides the public
and media with fast
access to court
records. Access to
paper records greater
than 45 minutes; to
electronic records,
less than 5 minutes.
Additional OnBase Benefits
• Provides for central
control of records
and reduces the
incidence of
secondary data from
expunged and nondisclosure cases by
eliminating multiple
paper copies within
the county.
Additional OnBase Benefits
• Paper records are
subject to damage,
mutilation, loss and
destruction due to
disaster. Digital
court records are
“backed-up” in two
offsite locations and
are instantly
retrievable.
Progress toward digital conversion
• The pilot criminal
court, the 283rd
Judicial District
Court, Judge
Richard Magnis,
went “live” as a fully
paperless court after
all pending case files
were imaged the
weekend of August
17, 2009.
Progress toward digital conversion
• $314,000 worth of
additional hardware
to support digital
conversion approved
by commissioners
court in 2009 and
with installation and
configuration
completed in March
2010.
Progress toward digital conversion
• Implementation of full
digital judicial process
for the 255th, 256th,
303rd and 302nd Family
district courts by May
31, 2010.
• Implementation of full
digital judicial process
for the 95th, 116th, 160th,
101st, and 134th Civil
district courts by May
31, 2010.
Progress toward digital conversion
• All remaining Civil and
Family district courts,
including Title IV-D
courts, to be migrated
to digital format by
Summer 2010.
• Now working with
Linebarger to migrate
submission of paper
tax cases to digital
format.
Progress toward digital conversion
• All new indictments
filed after January 1,
2010 for each of the 16
criminal district courts
are now digital. No
paper case jackets are
produced.
• Roll-out of the second
criminal district court
digital process for the
204th at the end of
March. Roll-out of all
criminal district courts
by Fall 2010.
What to Expect
• Business will be
conducted as usual
but there will no
longer be a paper
court file.
What to Expect
• Current paper-flow
procedures and
processes will remain
the same, just result in
an imaged document as
the permanent Court
record.
What to Expect
• The clerks will image
all incoming
documents to their
court and attach to the
electronic case file.
• OnBase document
management system
will integrate with the
Sheriff ’s AIS system
for seamless digital
process.
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.
How will this benefit you?
• Judges, the District
Attorney and probation
officers will be able to
access electronic records
from their offices.
• Remote off-site access
of case records will
allow attorneys to
research cases from their
offices.
Time for Q&A