Senate Journal: Page 61: Wednesday, January 13, 1999

  ever rival the splendor of our majestic Capitol, we hope that the new
  judicial branch
  building will, like the Capitol, be a source of lasting pride for all
  Iowans.

  Shaping the ideal judicial branch for the year 2020 was the basic premise of
  our
  Commission on Planning for the 21st Century.  You will remember that the
  commission, which was composed of over seventy Iowans from diverse
  backgrounds,
  conducted the first comprehensive, long-range study of the Iowa court
  system.  Much
  has been said about the careful report of the commission since it was
  submitted to our
  court.  Rather than attempt to summarize the report, I will briefly discuss
  some of the
  steps we are taking to achieve the commission's vision of the ideal court
  system for the
  21st Century and beyond.

  Recognizing that we could not simultaneously respond to all 89 of the
  commission's
  recommendations, we selected twelve priorities to address during the next
  two years.
  You will find a summary of those twelve priorities attached to my remarks. I
  want to
  briefly mention five of them.

  The first priority concerns safety.  Of all public institutions, the
  courthouse should
  be a safe haven.  We are taking steps to ensure the safety of all court
  participants -
  not just court personnel but all people who come to court.

  Another priority involves public service.  The courts are here to serve the
  people -
  not the system.  With that in mind, we are placing more emphasis on customer
  service
  to make our courts more "user-friendly."

  A third priority is information.  Information is the key to effective
  decision-making.
  It is key, not only for deciding cases, but also for management and public
  policy
  decisions.  We are expanding our statistical reports to cover a broad
  spectrum of
  detailed information about cases - for your benefit as well as for our own.

  Another priority involves education.  The vitality of the judicial branch
  depends
  upon the confidence and understanding of the public.  We are establishing a
  comprehensive public education program which will include developing
  law-related
  education programs for schools and promoting public understanding of the
  courts.

  The last priority concerns technology.  Information technology is rapidly
  changing
  the way people communicate and conduct business, including that of the
  courts.  We
  are exploring technological advances such as electronic filing of court
  papers and
  electronic data management for storage and retrieval of court records.

  As with most plans to enhance the effective administration of justice,
  successful
  implementation of our priorities will require broad public support.  We ask
  for yours.

  Much of the court system's ability to remain effective in the 21st Century
  hinges on
  the use of technology.  Someone once said: "Technology is like a
  steamroller.  If you are
  not the steamroller, then you are destined to become part of the road."  I
  am pleased to
  report that we are not part of the road.  In fact, Iowa has one of the most
  technologically advanced state court systems in the nation.

  Although computer technology offers the promise of a bright future, it is
  not
  problem free.  Predictions of global disaster abound because of the infamous
  Y2K bug.
  Those of you who know of my love affair with computers will understand my

© 1999 Cornell College and League of Women Voters of Iowa

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