The resulting systemic problems such as overcrowded jails, huge caseloads and court calendars, delay and backlog, frustration by court officials, law enforcement, witnesses, jurors, and the public, all indicate a need to implement differentiated case management techniques such as early intervention. Tennessee public defenders have fallen far behind courts and prosecutors, which have received generous state and federal technology funding. Enhance trial preparation and effectiveness of representation by utilizing innovative technology. Purchase four comprehensive multimedia courtroom presentation systems, to be located throughout the state, available on a shared basis to all public defender offices, to help public defenders give clients more effective representation, and balance the scales by allowing public defenders access to a system already in place for the prosecution. Geographically diverse county with no electronic communication between criminal justice entities.
All information is exchanged via paper.
The county clerk maintains a case database written in an archaic computer language and run on an old and unreliable mainframe. The case management system used by the public defender's office is outdated and does not provide attorneys and staff easy access to essential information on client cases. This will allow clients who may live in the upper Florida Keys to meet with their Key West attorney via video, alleviating the time and cost associated with travel. The increased use of complex scientific evidence in criminal cases has caused a dramatic increase in trial preparation for public defenders. The office's training budget was dramatically reduced several years ago and continued budget control measures have prevented the office from funding any staff education during the last fiscal year.