Senate Journal: Page 48: Wednesday, January 10, 1996

    company was hired to reproduce the records. Each document was placed,
    one at a time, through a scanner. An exact reproduction was
    automatically stored on a compact disc. The discs look like those sold
    in music stores. The results of this six-month project are astonishing!
    Fifty years of court records that filled 65 file drawers are now stored
    on 11 four-inch C.D.s.

         Technology can also help us manage the flood of criminal cases.
    Often in some of our high-volume courts, the system is so clogged that
    judges have little choice but to make decisions about criminal
    defendants based upon incomplete information. Polk County district
    associate court is developing an automated case management system to
    solve this problem. This system will serve as a prototype for courts
    around the state. This system will link, by computer, judges, the county
    attorneys office, the jail, the public defenders office, the department
    of correctional services, and the clerks office. Once this is ready,
    everyone on the network will have instant access to information about
    criminal defendants. Thats the way it ought to be.

         I wholeheartedly support further use of technology! My technology
    of comfort is a sharp, number two, Ticonderoga pencil. Its
    user-friendly, low maintenance, and its not smarter than I am. But times
    are changing and we all must change with it.

         Im delighted to note that a majority of Iowans favor the use of
    technology in the courts. In response to a new survey conducted for our
    Commission on Planning for the 21st Century, a majority polled thought
    that increasing the use of computer and communications technology in
    court operations is a good idea.

         Today, weve set up a court technology exhibit in the hall outside
    our courtroom downstairs to showcase some of our innovative programs.
    Please come down after these remarks, join us for coffee, and look
    through our display.

         Were making significant progress in the area of planning for the
    future. As that wise baseball sage, Yogi Berra, pointed out, The future
    isnt what is used to be.

         We are eagerly awaiting the report of our Planning Commission,
    which is chaired by Justice Linda Neuman. Never before have the Iowa
    courts conducted a comprehensive, long-range planning effort of this
    magnitude. Since last May, 60 hardworking Iowans from all walks of life
    have devoted substantial time to this project. They have been closely
    examining our court system and studying changes which will help us meet
    the needs of Iowans in the 21st Century. Thank you in advance for the
    financial support your leadership has pledged for this study.

         The Planning Commission is scheduled to complete its work and
    report to the Supreme Court by June. A year from now, we hope to provide
    you with a full complement of legislative proposals which will help
    prepare our courts for the future.  I am confident that together we can
    shape a justice system that will continue, even in the face of
    tremendous changes in society, to administer the highest levels of
    justice.

Iowa General Assembly

Index: Senate Journal (76th General Assembly: Session 2)

© 1996 Cornell College and League of Women Voters of Iowa

Comments? sjourn@legis.iowa.gov.

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