Access to Justice: Orange County Superior Court's

31e9070907a0caef9a5cae9c0048603a92751f97

California Superior Local Rules

TECHNOLOGY COLUMN Access to Justice: Orange County Superior Court's Self-Help Portal By Marcus W. Reinkensmeyer, Phoenix, AZ ‘ n its continuing commitment to improve court access, the Orange County California Superior Court has recently introduced enhanced on-line services via a new Self-Help Portal and My Court Card.

Through this portal, _ self- represented litigants are offered a full array of services, including educational programs, court forms and pre-filing document reviews through a single access point, Serving a population of million residents in South- ern California, the Orange County Superior Court as- sists an estimated 10,000 to 12,000 self-represented litigants per month. Court officials observe that liti- gants have difficulty navigating the judicial system, often repeating steps in the litigation process over and over again.

As Sal Reynoso, senior Self-Help Center attorney, noted, “ That is not customer service. How can the court best expedite services, while still show- ing compassion for the litigants? ” This need led to Orange County ’ s new Self-Help Por- tal, a system designed to provide personalized on-line services from the time of case filing through final dis- position. The system is currently deployed for all fam- ily court dissolution cases. Planning is underway to expand the Self-Help Portal to other case types.

Self-represented litigants seeking assistance register on the Internet and are then issued a Litigant ID card in hard copy and/or virtual format.

Once they are registered, litigants are guided on-line by real-time case updates and individualized, case-specific ser- vices, including: * Procedural information, including Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ ’ s) * Access to case information 4 +Summer Free pre-filing document reviews by court staff Educational tutorials Registration for educational workshops Court forms and instructions Reminders about case proceedings via “ My Message Center ” and personal e-mail The Self-Help portal is being designed by the Orange County Court administration and technology staff.

A number of readily available software applications and support tools are being leveraged to provide users easy navigation and rich content in the form of case data, on-line documents, video and supporting graphics. Specifically, the court is using Microsoft SharePoint and Dynamics, Adobe Hotdocs, and case and docu- ment management systems.

The Orange County Courts are working on a number of far reaching enhancements, including “ true mobile apps ” for mobile phones and tablets (e.g., inclusion of the litigant ID card in Apple Passport wallet and Google Wallet), additional video training modules, “ Guide and File ” smart forms (akin to the Turbo Tax application), full integration of the court ’ s case man- agement system and mobile device geo-location ser- Continued on page EDITORIAL BO. 2015-2016 WI aney_josephawi vices to help litigants find their way around the court facilities serving the county, e.g., courtrooms, conference rooms, training rooms and the Grand Rapids Self-Help Center. _greachea@wnj. € c Reflecting on the benefits of the Self-Help Portal, Alan Carlson, the Court's Chief Executive Officer, stated, “ Offering self-help services is good case management.

If litigant ’ s court forms are complete, cases can move to disposition. A one hour investment in litigant assistance can save count- less hours and workload on the part of the parties, judges and court staff. ” Thanks to Alan Carison, Court Executive Office, and Sal Reynoso, Senior Attorney for the Self-Help Center, Orange County Courts, California, for their phone interview and supporting reference materials. For further information, contact Alan Carison at Marcus W.

Reinkensmeyer is the Director of the Court Services Division, Administrative Office of the Courts, Arizona Supreme Court and may be reached at onference of ‘ ourt Judges z.com jonference of Judges Hon. Heather / Indianapolis, IN hwelch@indy gov EDITOR ’ S NOT! The J " A CMS BUILT WITH MY NEEDS IN MIND. Division, Thomson Reuters Court Management Solutions ” Ufiiversities or ith whom ‘ Our innovative, comprehensive C-Track® court management system jgned to help you perform at maximum efficiency, eliminating ie steps that can cost valuat allocate employee resources.

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Document details

Collection	California Superior Local Rules
Citation	31e9070907a0caef9a5cae9c0048603a92751f97
Type	court_rule
Language	en
Format	pdf
Source	CA_LOCAL
Identifier	31e9070907a0caef9a5cae9c0048603a92751f97

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