Wednesday, March 12, 2003
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Wednesday, March 12, 2003 |
Fayette's court records take electronic form; now easier for public to searchBy JOHN
MUNFORD
In the not-too-distant past, researching a criminal or civil case in Fayette County was a time-consuming process that involved plowing through hefty docket books in the search for a particular case. Now, all it takes is a few taps on the keyboard and perhaps a mouse click or two. Superior Court Clerk Sheila Studdard has achieved one of her goals: computerizing the court's case management system. Instead of shuffling through multiple docket books, citizens can use a public computer in the State Court office to search criminal and civil cases in both Superior Court and State Court. The database also includes traffic citations from State Court and the information will be available instantly for judges at special computer terminals on the bench. Cases can be searched by first, last or middle name of a party to the case, allowing for a much easier process than thumbing through the multiple docket books, Studdard said. "You never have to pull a file," Studdard said. "... I think it's great for John Q. Citizen." Full case records are available for the criminal division dating back to Jan. 1, 2002 and the civil division began its electronic formatting the first of this year. Those files will be "complete" but the computer will search back to give some information from files dating back to 1985. Once a case is pulled up on the computer, virtually all the information is available on screen, such as the verdict or judgement plus sentencing information. Better yet, in many cases the copy machine can be taken out of the mix as copies are printed on a laser jet printer instead. Although there's only one public search terminal available currently, there will eventually be 20 terminals after the court moves to its location at the new courthouse, Studdard said. The next effort will be to have the Magistrate Court submit its records electronically so they can be linked to the current records, Studdard added.
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