District Court data on website

Internet access to District Court case files, calendars and other information about the legal system should be available by the end of the month.

The District Court and County Clerk Web pages were originally scheduled to be up by the end of January, but the openings were delayed to test the system and review the information that will be made available.

The computerized coming-out party is now set for April 28, if all goes well.

Detailed information on court cases along with general information about services and programs and a variety of legal forms will be available on the website.

Those with questions will be able to ask them via e-mail.

The wait will be worth it, Court Administrator Chuck Short said. "I challenge anyone to go to other court websites and find one more advanced," he said. The system has been used by courthouse staffers for the past several months during the development phases.

Short said that during early testing, two major problems surfaced.

The first was what information could be released.

Many of the court documents slated for release on the Internet carried Social Security numbers, birth dates and other personal information about litigants, witnesses or victims, Short said.

The second was how to handle the often-technical legal terminology of the judicial process.

While lawyers, their staffs and courthouse employees understand the words, it became clear that the public wouldn't, Short said.

County computer experts also have spent much of this year creating user-friendly pathways through the system so those who log on can easily find what they need, he said.

At this point, Short said, all that is left to complete before the site's debut are a few design or cosmetic issues and the installation of software that will facilitate the downloading of legal forms.

But the site will still be a work in progress, he said.

Other forms and information dealing with arbitration in civil cases and Family Court matters will be available within 90 days.

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