Be honest – who has been staying up late to watch Thursday night football despite it “only” being pre-season?
So many people, even the rain-or-shine fans championing their jersey at every “real” game, discredit the hype of pre-season since the final scores aren’t carved in the books. While the weeks leading up to the official NFL kick-off may not mean much to the fans clutching their scorecards, it is a critical time for coaches. Not only are they making calls on the faces of their team, these decisions ultimately determine how the ball moves and which strategies play into the team’s overall strengths.
Similar to passing a football from player to player, each contributing his own niche function within the team, legal cases are often moved between various court types as it moves “down the field,” or toward its conclusion. For instance, probate cases frequently team up with the Juvenile Court when minors are involved, routine traffic stops end up in the criminal court when drug or alcohol is discovered, and numerous cases from any-given court are commonly ascended to the Appellate, or Supreme, Court level.
Unfortunately, moving cases between courts isn’t as quick or easy as throwing it to your teammate who is prepared and ready for your toss. There are organizational requirements, formal processes and, of course, files upon files of paper involved.
But There Is A Winning Strategy
Much like how a winning team is made up of hand-picked players best-suited to fill specific positions, the Component Model approach for court case management is successful because it allows courts to cherry-pick and “snap on” only the functionalities and components that serve their needs.
The blueprints for our core Court solution to snap onto existing case management systems were developed from a holistic view of the justice process and accounts for digital transformation at each step. Complete with electronic filing for attorneys, pro se litigants and clerks, an electronic Bench solution for judges, a digital workflow that routes electronic case files, and a program that supports access to justice for self-represented litigants, the core Court solution respects the unique challenges and needs of different court types. Able to integrate with almost any case management system or external state agency, this highly-configurable approach transcends case-type lines by allowing one type of court to seamlessly exchange data, documents and updates with another, and to communicate with jails, Child Support Enforcement offices and more.
Keeping That Playoff-Level Hope Alive
As any avid football fan can attest to (or reluctantly supportive friends of avid football fans), the “football season” and playoffs are two completely different games. The playoffs are grounded in pure hope – keeping chances alive until the clock calls score. This is very much the same when a case is appealed. The parties are grasping at their last opportunity for a situation to be resolved in their favor, or for justice to be served as they see fit. And just like all eyes are on the quarterback in this end-all-be-all play, everyone is counting on integration to efficiently and accurately carry these cases through to the higher court.
Integrations not only equip courts with the ability to quickly and securely transcend cases horizontally across various types, but it also assists in facilitating the fancy footwork of ascending case transcripts and files electronically to appellate courts without the notoriously time-consuming paper assembly.
And yes, just like your favorite team, there is an app for that.
Partnered with the Virginia District Court, we developed a purpose-built application that can stand alone or integrate with case and document management systems to ensure user-friendly, consistent case ascension from start to finish. CaseShare automates transcripts and case assembly to your state’s standard (so case files are generated based on the upper court’s preference for receiving), populates a Table of Contents and Documents list, allows clerks to rotate, re-order, delete and/or add pages, is completely text-searchable and more.
With functionality and results that appeal to lower court clerks, appellate clerks, justices and especially the citizens whose cases are being processed at historically efficient speeds, we can guarantee there will be no discrepancy when making the call on CaseShare.
The Recap
If there was a fantasy league for courtroom efficiency, would you be a first-round draft pick? If not, you may want to consider investing in your strategy. Current courtroom titleholders play by the Component Model’s rulebook, integrate well with others, and lead the board in closing out cases accurately and efficiency.
We Want to Hear From You!
Which NFL team best resembles your court case processes? Which team do you aspire to be?
Reply in the “comments” section below or on our Courts showcase page! We read and respond – promise!
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