In 1989, after practicing law for 15 years and being on the bench for 7 years, I was given the opportunity to spearhead the process of building a new Courthouse in Prince George's County. We had to, as a part of that process, plan for the amount of space our Court was going to need in the year 2010. The Court went through a meticulous planning process to ascertain what space was needed by the Clerk's Office, the Jury Commissioner the State Attorney's office, as well as the parole, probation and Sheriff's offices. It was through this Court planning process that I became aware of the tremendous cost and inefficiencies of our paper-dependent work process. This background formed the basis for JusticeLINK, the first national pilot for a state court electronic filing project.
Courts have to change their methods and ways of doing business.
We hear that constantly from all sources, most particularly from those who appropriate money in their budgets and the litigating public. Thus, this electronic pilot project provided an opportunity to discuss that change, and how to manage the change. The problem we have to deal with is our dependence on paper. Inventory, it has been said, is the root of all evil. The problem is generated by the fact that a judge needs paper to decide.