Michigan’s Office of Dispute Resolution Goes Global

By Stephanie Beyersdorf, Management Analyst, State Court Administrative Office (SCAO) Field Services

In late 2020, the SCAO's Office of Dispute Resolution was contacted by TASC Consulting & Capital, Israel’s largest consulting firm, on behalf of the Israeli Ministry of Justice.  The Israeli Ministry of Justice performs functions similar to the SCAO.  It also houses Israel’s Attorney General, Civil Legal Aid Administration, and nearly a dozen additional units of the Israeli government.  The Ministry and TASC wanted to learn about MI-Resolve, Michigan’s new online dispute resolution (ODR) system.

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.

Advising Defendants of Their Rights

By Hon. William G. Kelly, Retired 62B District Court Judge

At the time of a guilty plea, the court must advise a defendant of his or her rights.  This can be done in writing, but people who are illiterate or have low literacy just sign their names without knowing their rights.  Literate people can read the rights, but they often sign without reading to expedite the process.  Educators tell us that people retain only 10 percent of what they read, 20 percent of what they hear, and 50 percent of what they both see and hear.^[1]  So I believe it is important to read the advice of rights to the defendants.  However, reading the advice of rights to everyone is time-consuming and repetitive, and it’s possible to miss something.

In the 62B District Court (Kentwood), we created a narrated slide show video for criminal case defendants to watch about their rights.

Our Greatest Advancement in 2020: Being Human

By Tony McDowell, Deputy Friend of the Court, 7th Circuit Court (Genesee County)

Looking back at how courts have changed in 2020, it is easy to see the technological changes.  Courts have surged forward with amazing advancements.  It wasn’t long ago that ‘zoom’ was something your camera did, and being “in a waiting room” meant you were going to have to sit on an uncomfortable chair while looking at an old Sports Illustrated.  Now, for those of us in Michigan courts, Zoom video conferencing is how we do much of our work, and we have all gotten used to the virtual waiting room.  COVID-19 forced all of us working in the judiciary to evolve and become more comfortable with Zoom and many other remote work technologies.  Although for most of us Zoom is simply a computer program we are now required to use to conduct hearings and meetings, for some of us Zoom has become so much more.  It has become how we connect to each other and to those we serve.

Adapting During the Pandemic Shutdown at the 23rd District Court Probation Department

By Steve DeSmet, Probation Director and Downriver Regional DWI Court Coordinator, 23rd District Court

In March 2020, most things in the world came to a halt.  The COVID-19 pandemic caused the closing of schools, restaurants, and other businesses in a way that had not been seen in more than 100 years.  However, even in these unprecedented times, the work of courts could not simply stop.  The criminal justice system is one of the rare parts of American society that continues to churn on, regardless of the externalities that threaten its ability to function. 

Online Dispute Resolution: Part 1

By Doug Van Epps, Director, Office of Dispute Resolution

Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) is quickly gaining recognition as a means of providing greater customer service and access to justice.  You will be hearing much more about it in the months and years ahead as courts adopt services that allow people to resolve their disputes online.

Clerk L.O.V.: Bringing Public Service to the People

By Lisa Brown, Oakland County Clerk/Register of Deeds

According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of public service is:

1. the business of supplying a commodity (such as electricity or gas) or service (such as transportation) to any or all members of a community,
2. a service rendered in the public interest,
3. governmental employment.

As a county clerk, I believe all three definitions fit my role: a countywide elected official tasked with, in the most general and broadest of terms, keeping the records—a position that is undervalued and unappreciated by most, until they need a document.

Social Media Marketing for Courts: A JTC Resource Bulletin

By Kevin Bowling, Trial Court Administrator of the 20th Circuit and Ottawa County Probate Courts and Co-Chair of the Joint Technology Committee

For many years the Joint Technology Committee (JTC) has operated under the auspices of the Conference of State Court Administrators (COSCA), the National Association for Court Management (NACM), and the National Center for State Courts (NCSC).  The JTC mission is simply: “To improve the administration of justice through technology,” and this has been accomplished in a variety of ways, including the development and promotion of technology standards for courts, improving court process and business practices, providing technology training, and providing technology guidance to courts through resource documents.

MichiganLegalHelp.org and the Average Visitor

By Ramzi Badwi, Program and Outreach Coordinator, Michigan Legal Help Program

Michigan Residents and the Justice Gap

At its core, MichiganLegalHelp.org is a website designed to provide free legal information for those who are representing themselves in their legal matters.  In 2012, there was only one Michigan legal services attorney for every 21,625 residents who qualified for their services.  This disparity between the demand for and availability of legal resources meant that many eligible residents had to be turned away.  This “justice gap” is not only experienced in Michigan, but nationwide as well.  According to the Legal Services Corporation (LSC), “low-income Americans will approach LSC-funded legal aid organizations for support with an estimated 1.7 million problems (2017).  They will receive only limited or no legal help for more than half of these problems because of a lack of resources.”  The individuals and families affected by this gap comprise Michigan Legal Help’s (MLH) ideal audience, and so the question is who is an average MLH visitor and how do they compare to the population experiencing this justice gap?

JIS Live Webinars - Caseload Reporting is a Good Start

By Christopher Abraham, Senior Manager, IT Services, Judicial Information Services

Judicial Information Services is finishing 2018 and heading into the New Year by offering some tips and best practices for court staff who are responsible for the annual caseload reporting in January and February 2019.  

MiCOURT Reminders: Got Court? Get a Text Message Reminder!

By Courtney J. Schrader, Software Product Owner, Judicial Information Services
and Meg Green, Experience Architect, Pillar Technology

Appearing for scheduled court dates.  Paying your ticket by the due date.  Filing the right paperwork for your grandma’s estate on time.  With the new MiCOURT Reminders tool, you can now receive court-related reminders as text messages just like the dentist, coach, and the grocery store send.

Value to the Public/Value to the Court

Depending on the court process and the type of case, a missed hearing may result in a default judgment, a bench warrant, and additional court fees.  Missing payment deadlines may result in a court date (which, if missed, becomes a bench warrant) and late fees.  Of course, an active warrant leaves you subject to arrest at any time.  One of the main goals of MiCOURT Reminders is to decrease the number of these “no-shows” for court dates and improve timely compliance with court orders.

Another goal of MiCOURT Reminders is to reduce the amount of time clerks spend handling cases when someone does not pay or appear.  In some courts, there is at least one staff member dedicated to calling people to remind them of their payment due date.  In addition, courts are spending $15,000 or more annually on postage to mail delinquent notices and bench warrants.  Improving the appearance rate using text message reminders should cascade into reduced costs through reduced mailings, while also freeing up some of the 5-8 hours that clerks spend preparing mail every week.  Other interested parties—victims, the media, attorneys—can also be notified of hearing dates through MiCOURT Reminders.  Each person who knows they will receive a text reminder is one less person who needs to call the court.

The text reminder does not replace the required “Notice to Appear” form that is often provided weeks or months before the court date.  By sending a text reminder a few days before the hearing, we hope to improve the overall appearance rate, similar to that seen in a program in New York City that reduced failure-to-appear rates by more than 25 percent through the use of text messaging.

Why Text Messaging?

Research shows that at least 50 percent of people surveyed preferred receiving communication through text messaging versus a phone call.  Also, when available, approximately half of those surveyed opted to receive text messages from companies even when the messages were advertising based.  Other top reasons for signing up for text message services included personalized messaging and reducing the need to call or visit a website to obtain information.

How it Works

The MiCOURT Reminders service, offered by Judicial Information Services (JIS), will send a text reminder two business days before a scheduled hearing date; this timing allows parties to make work or childcare arrangements if necessary.  Currently in pilot with the 54B District Court in East Lansing, reminders can be sent to anyone who signs up for any public case.  The clerks are offering to sign up defendants when they appear for arraignments and pretrials or call to request informal hearings.  In some cases, both the defendant and their attorney have signed up for the reminders.  Reminders can also be sent for civil cases, which may be very helpful for people representing themselves (e.g., college students in landlord-tenant cases).

When someone signs up in a court, they will receive a consent request message.  A response of “Yes” or “Start” is required to receive reminders.  Two business days before a scheduled hearing, the application compares the calendar with all the cases and phone numbers signed up for hearings and then sends hearing reminders after court hours through an automated job.  Each message includes the case number, hearing description, date/time, and court location (court number and city).  If someone later signs up for more cases or additional reminder types from the same court, he or she will receive a confirmation message listing the case number(s), but the initial consent still applies.  The court staff has the ability to remove phone numbers from individual cases, but to stop all messages from a specific court the phone owner simply replies “Stop” or “Cancel” to any previous message.

We plan to add payment due reminders in the near future, followed by making the service available to circuit and probate courts with additional reminder types based on the unique needs of the court customers.  Other potential features include customizing the timing and content of messages per hearing type, notifying subscribers of rescheduled (adjourned) hearings, and ad hoc instant messaging in the event of an unplanned court closure (e.g., due to a power outage).

Value Realized

More than 350 people have signed up for reminders through D54B in East Lansing since late April, mostly for hearings on traffic and criminal cases.  As of early August, nearly 400 hearing reminder messages were sent.  At the end of July, the 44th District Court in Royal Oak was added.  In the first two weeks the court signed up more than 100 people to receive reminders.  It is still too early to quantify a reduction in failure-to-appear rates and the associated processing work required; however, the program has proven to be very popular so far with more than 90 percent of case parties signing up for reminders.

How We Did It

MiCOURT Reminders is the newest member of MiCOURT Suite Tools, a collection of applications with a mission to provide small but powerful pieces of value to courts using JIS’s case management systems.  The existing tools include Calendar Integration for displaying a read-only version of the judges’ calendars from the case management system in Outlook or a mobile phone; Court Display with Public URL to display the court’s schedule on screens in the courthouse and/or the court’s website; a digital court recording integration (DCR Integration); and MiCOURT Case Search, a publicly available record search.

Developed using Agile principles, the development team built the initial application in less than three months before partnering with East Lansing’s 54B District Court to pilot and test the service.  Staff at D54B provide regular feedback through a product owner, who then turns this feedback into new features for the development team to incorporate into the application.  Features are evaluated and prioritized based on value to the courts, complexity, and location in the overall road map for MiCOURT Reminders.  Our pilot partners also participate in usability testing, a process where we present a mocked up version of a new feature before the developers start work to help ensure we are delivering the most valuable features first.

How to Get It

MiCOURT Reminders is currently in pilot phase for courts using JIS’s District Court case management system (DCS).  The application should be available for additional district courts in mid- to late-Fall.  As further development is completed, courts using the TCS, PCS, and CCS case management systems will be able to sign-up for the service; however, we don’t have a specific date for these courts yet.  Courts interested in signing up for MiCOURT Reminders should contact the JIS Service Delivery team (jis@courts.mi.gov or 888-339-1547) to be added to the list.

62B District Court, Legal Assistance Center Partner to Offer Self-Guided Legal Help

By Deborah Hughes, Executive Director, Legal Assistance Center, Grand Rapids

The innovative 62B District Court in Kentwood has created a new way to support self-represented litigants.  Chief Judge William G. Kelly and Court Administrator Michele White envisioned a place at D62B where self-represented litigants can easily find forms, resources, and online tools to assist them in using the court services and solving legal problems on their own.

Smaller Technology Projects Make a Big Impact

By Kate Ambrose, 10th District Court Administrator/Attorney Magistrate

The newest smart phone is released and the first question users ask is, “What more can it do?”  A user’s relationship with technology has an evolution of emotion from scared and overwhelmed to acceptance, then comfortability, finally ending in the question, “What more can it do?”  Once we become accustomed to it, new technology can become addictive. 

Trial Court Services/Pillar Technology Joint Research Effort to Understand Court Information Needs

By Gretchen McNeely, User Experience Strategist, Pillar Technology

A moose head mounted on the wall, an ancient dumbwaiter, and an adorable collection of stuffed bears were just a few of the many surprises that awaited Pillar Technology and the TCS analyst team as they launched an ethnographic project this past August to better understand the information needs of Michigan judges in circuit, probate, and district courts.

Electronic Docket Display: A 'Trial' Run

By Nicole Evans, Court Administrator, 54B District Court (East Lansing)

So what’s the big deal about having a monitor display a docket outside of a courtroom or in the lobby?  The 54B District Court was invited to participate in a JIS pilot of its electronic docket display in December 2016 and we piloted the docket display for two months to determine whether to implement its use as part of our daily operations.  We were fortunate to have existing equipment and a public Wi-Fi connection, which helped us obtain feedback from unrepresented parties, attorneys, judges, and staff. 

Use SCAO MCAP Help Desk for Reports and More

Have you ever received an error message while running an output report from the Delay in Criminal Proceedings application?  Or wondered what steps you should take to submit your caseload verification?  The Michigan Court Application Portal (MCAP) Help Desk team is available to answer these and many other questions about the various reporting applications on MCAP.

E-Filing Design is Critical to Maximize Benefits for Courts and Filers

E-filing is a top priority of the Michigan Supreme Court and the State Court Administrative Office (SCAO).  We understand the critical implications to the courts in having a statewide e-filing and integrated electronic document management system (EDMS).  They provide a landmark opportunity to help courts become more efficient by reducing the need to receive, process, store, and retrieve paper files.   At the same time, e-filing will improve service to the public, increase access to courts, and reduce the cost of filing for litigants. 

Outlook Calendaring Integration Application: A Way to Effectively Coordinate and Integrate Multiple Calendars with JIS Docket Information

By Anethia Brewer, Court Administrator, 54A District Court

In an effort to address a number of challenges affecting Michigan Courts, JIS reached out to courts and sought information on what could be done to assist in streamlining court processes.  One item identified as a common issue across courts was the duplicate entry into multiple calendars being performed when hearings were scheduled.   A quick solution to help courts be more effective and efficient in their work was to develop a calendar integration application to display a judge’s calendar from the case management system in Outlook, or on a mobile device, without double entry.  The calendar integration functionality has been developed and tested in a test environment, as well as in the “live” JIS environment in 54A District Court.