tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post3916733230447482230..comments2024-03-25T20:06:39.794-05:00Comments on Grits for Breakfast: E-filing and underinvestment in court IT technologyGritsforbreakfasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-40744340587941807232013-03-06T19:13:52.757-06:002013-03-06T19:13:52.757-06:00I agree. I think it's worth it to invest in th...I agree. I think it's worth it to invest in things like <a href="http://www.ecourtsystems.com/" rel="nofollow">eFile technology</a> to improve efficiency, especially when it comes to the court systems!<br />-JonAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-46474689250809541742013-02-21T20:00:08.243-06:002013-02-21T20:00:08.243-06:00Very informative blog and interesting post. This m...Very informative blog and interesting post. This may be relevant..<br />Today I got to my car and found a packet with 2 sheets of paper, one red and one neon green, taped to the drivers side window. The packet informed me of the "2013 Great Texas Warrant Round Up" and informed the owner of the vehicle to act now or be arrested. I got home and looked up the citation number on the packet on the website the paper said to visit. No results. I called 311 and gave them the information and it seems that there were four warrants issued for my husband, for a jan.2012 moving violation ticket and a warrant issued for failure to appear in court feb.2012. When the January ticket was issued he went to jail because he had warrants dating back to a speeding ticket from 2004 which had been paid! 7-8 years with a warrant and not knowing so? that can't be correct. Anyways, he spent a couple of days in jail and he presented proof of payment for the 2004 citation which the dismissed and the judge gave him credit for time served for the jan.2012 ticket and case closed . All of the tickets occurred in Harris county. surcharges paid. His drivers license was renewed in the summer of 2012, his license number was run on three different occasions that I'm aware of: once by a policeman, our insurance company and at the federal building within the last six months. There was also nothing mailed to our home and we've lived in Houston over a decade. Now he has to go back to court and provide every record since 2004. I don't how the record/background system is linked (one database for the county or one for each precinct?) in Harris, so it could just a result of bad bookkeeping and failure to communicate. Perhaps they don't spend money on IT is because they are counting on people not keeping their proof of payment/time served/etc. If the "pool" of non violent offenders is big enough theoretically the job is a lot less dangerous and they still get paid. In any case this is a problem.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-90036606645743416412013-02-14T10:11:14.721-06:002013-02-14T10:11:14.721-06:00Thanks for catching the error, 9:03, I corrected t...Thanks for catching the error, 9:03, I corrected the post. For some reason I'd written down "4th Court" in my notes beside her comments but also "Tarrant" - doublechecking online, it was Justice Livingston of the Second Court. Good catch. Mea culpa.Gritsforbreakfasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-91328504170721812642013-02-14T09:03:36.850-06:002013-02-14T09:03:36.850-06:00One quick correction--the Fourth Court of Appeals ...One quick correction--the Fourth Court of Appeals is in San Antonio.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-66628635558205725322013-02-14T07:46:26.581-06:002013-02-14T07:46:26.581-06:007:33, as I understand it, the issue is not with th...7:33, as I understand it, the issue is not with the counties but the Lege, which "swept" money from many of the the "dedicated" funds last session to certify the budget and draw down federal dollars. So even though the line item says Court IT Fund, the money was not all used for that purpose.Gritsforbreakfasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-61828956798155506252013-02-14T07:33:33.074-06:002013-02-14T07:33:33.074-06:00Isn't "Court I.T. Fund" one of the m...Isn't "Court I.T. Fund" one of the many Court Costs allowed to be collected under the O.C.A. provision?<br /><br />If so somebody needs to inquire how that money is being used locally. There should be ample money collected as a court cost to pay for these needs. Unless Counties are using the money for everything but the intended purpose of the money. Where's the $$noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-66075710620028922342013-02-13T21:35:01.337-06:002013-02-13T21:35:01.337-06:00I'm don't know off-hand, Doran, but judgin...I'm don't know off-hand, Doran, but judging from the $0 fiscal notes given to nearly every criminal penalty enhancement, I wouldn't be surprised.Gritsforbreakfasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-87931878924323488532013-02-13T14:32:02.573-06:002013-02-13T14:32:02.573-06:00Grits, I'm willing to bet that the LLB Fiscal ...Grits, I'm willing to bet that the LLB Fiscal Note for the legislation mandating electronic filing reached the conclusion that there would be no fiscal or economic impact of the legislation. Do you know if I would win the bet or not?dorannoreply@blogger.com