Access to Court Documents
First Published in the Prince George’s County, Maryland Bar Association Journal – Newsletter
Judge Arthur M. Monty Ahalt -Â June 1996
First there was CivicLink, then there was JusticeLINK, and now there is CourtLink. You will be hearing more and more about CourtLink in the near future. But I saw it last week at an Electronic Access conference sponsored by the Institute for Court Management-National Center for State Courts. CourtLink is a court data base access program developed by Data West. They first developed a database access system for all courts in the State of Washington.. They have added to the online system 82 of 84 federal courts. You will soon see their system on the East Coast. Hopefully in Prince George’s County.
CourtLink is a Windows-based service for court record access. Uses for Court Link according to Data West literature and their demonstration at the Electronic Access conference include the following: Background checks including, charges, convictions, and repeat offense patterns. Litigation history including, types of cases, judgments, case status, amounts of judgments, names of parties and their representatives. Document discovery including, kinds of documents filed, day-to-day listing of all documents. Case management including case event schedule, court calendars, fees and payment records.
Minimum system requirements to use CourtLink are: 486 or higher microprocessor, Windows 3.1 or Windows 95, 4MB or more of memory, 3MB of available hard disk space, a 3.5″ high density or 5.25 high density disk drive, a Hayes-compatible asynchronous modem or compatible modem pool.
CourtLink can be reached for a demo disk or subscription at 1-800-774-7317 or by E-mail at datawest@courtlink.com.
JusticeLINK continues to receive an incredible amount of local, national and international attention. On the local front representatives from the following courts have come to the Prince George’s County Courthouse to see a demonstration or have expressed strong interest:
Circuit Court for Baltimore County
Circuit Court for Baltimore City
Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County
Superior Court for the District of Columbia
Circuit Court for Fairfax County
From around the Nation the following courts have come to the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County to see a demonstration or have expressed a strong interest:
Administrative Office of the Courts for New Jersey
United States Office of Child Support
United States Justice Department
JEDDI Corporation
United States Administrative Office of the Courts
United States Bankruptcy Court for the District Court of Maryland for the Southern Division
Denton County, Texas,
Harris County (Houston), Texas
Dade County (Miami), Florida
Lexington, Kentucky
Chesapeake, Virginia
Sarasota, Florida
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
1st Judicial Circuit of Illinois
Nashville, Tennessee
Sante Fe, New Mexico
Kane County, Illinois Circuit Court
Austin,Texas
Medina, Ohio Municipal Court
State Court Administrator of Montana
13th Judicial Circuit Court Tampa, Florida
Ninth Circuit Court Kalamazoo, Michigan
Williamson County, Illinois Circuit Court
North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts
18th Judicial District Court Wichita, Kansas
Florida Office of the State Court Administrator
Bakersfield, California Municipal Court
2nd Circuit United States Court of Appeals
Charlotte County, Florida Circuit Court
United States District Court Southern District of New York
Passaic County New Jersey
Circuit Court Sanford, Florida
Superior Court of Arizona
Massillon, Ohio Municipal Court
Billings, Montana City Court
Michigan State Court Administrator
Federal Judiciary U. S. Courts
Missouri State Court Administrator
Shelby County Memphis, Tennessee
From around the globe:
Australia Courts
Italian Courts
United Kingdom Courts
Trinidad Courts
Israel Courts
Ontario Canada Courts
San Juan Puerto Rico Courts
It is obvious from this type of interest generated in just one year that the time for electronic filing is NOW. Will you be a part of the development and profit or will you wait because it costs too much time and money and end up losing business to those who are willing to make the investment now?
FUNNY PLEADINGS AND THINGS
A court room story recently told by a retired judge now lawyer Paul Dorf.
While cross-examining a scorned wife who had been berating her husband throughout the trial, the husband’s lawyer asked the wife “please would you just tell the Judge what it is you want from my client.” The wife responded ” I just want him to leave me as he found me.” The lawyer then asked “And how is that?” The wife yelled “Widowed!”
