New One Court of Justice Website Underway

By James Bosko, Judicial Information Services (JIS); and Sarah Roth, Publications Manager, Michigan Judicial Institute (MJI)

In 1990, the first web page appeared on the Internet.  Thirty years later, websites have become critical aspects of any organization that delivers services or disseminates information.  As new technology emerges, demand for a better online experience has increased.  Websites are expected to return relevant search results and work across all desktop and mobile devices.

In 2019, the Michigan Supreme Court recognized that to better serve the court community and the public, the One Court of Justice website needed improvements.  Funding was secured from the Legislature, and a team of JIS, State Court Administrative Office (SCAO), and Court of Appeals/Court of Claims staff was formed to lead this initiative.  This team has dedicated numerous hours gathering requirements and completing two separate request for proposal processes to select both a new website platform and identify a website implementation partner to assist with the design and development of the new website.  With the current One Court of Justice website receiving on average 12 million page views each year, the team recognized the importance of choosing both the right platform and the right partner.  Episerver's Digital Experience Platform was chosen as the best fit for the unique requirements of the OCJ site, and The C2 Group (C2) was chosen as the Court's implementation partner.

Work with C2 is now actively underway, and the team looks forward to delivering a new One Court of Justice site with features including improved search functionality, better organized search results, and a more responsive design to improve the mobile experience for the public.  Another important goal is to create a more user-centric and intuitive organization of the content for easier navigation.  This requires balancing competing aspects of the site: avoiding overwhelming users with information while making the most highly utilized resources on the current site quickly and easily accessible, highlighting key initiatives of the Courts, and ensuring additional content can be easily discovered and accessed.

An initial launch of the new One Court of Justice site is currently being targeted for the second quarter of 2021, with improvements and new features to follow.

If you would like to provide feedback on your experience using the One Court of Justice website, please complete the short survey here.

James Bosko is a Software Delivery Lead in JIS. Prior to joining JIS in 2018, he managed custom development projects at an Enterprise Resource Planning software development company. He earned his bachelor's degree in physics from Michigan State University.

Sarah Roth is the Publications Manager for MJI. She has been with MJI since 2007 and initially joined MJI as a research attorney. Prior to that and during law school, she served as a student clerk with the Friend of the Court Bureau. She graduated from Ball State University in 2003 and Thomas M. Cooley Law school in 2007.