House Journal: Page 72: Wednesday, January 10, 2001
ON-LINE COURTS
We are putting the finishing touches on the first step, a program that will put court
dockets on-line, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. With this service, Iowans will have
at their fingertips summaries of case information such as court schedules, fine-
payment records, judgments, liens, child support obligations, and other case events,
from all 99 counties and the appellate courts.
We are ready to launch this program once you decide how to fund electronic access
to public records.
ELECTRONIC DOCUMENT
MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
The second step, the centerpiece of our on-line court system, will be a program we
call electronic document management system, or EDMS. It will enable people to
electronically file their court documents and view entire court files on-line.
EDMS could eventually result in a paperless court system. However, I want to
assure you that the Judicial Branch will continue to accommodate citizens who want to
conduct their court business with paper. We will be equipped to scan paper filings into
the system and to make paper copies when requested.
After several years of carefully studying the feasibility and cost of EDMS, we are
ready to test it. In a few months, we will be operating pilot projects in Clinton County
and Dubuque County. Later this year, we will test the program here at the appellate
level. After the tests are done, we hope to take this technology statewide.
But we’re not going to stop there. We can do more.
VIDEO COURT
During the recent presidential election saga, Americans had an opportunity to
watch televised arguments before a state appellate court. At the time, a journalist
asked me if the Iowa Supreme Court would ever allow television coverage of its
proceedings. He was amazed when I told him that the Iowa Judicial Branch has
allowed cameras in our courts for the past twenty years. Although we allow televised
coverage, the media has not taken advantage of this by covering proceedings gavel-to-
gavel.
Unfortunately, the public’s perception of the court system is influenced by television
shows such as People’s Court, Divorce Court, and Moral Court, the goals of which are
to entertain and sell household cleaners. Some people fear that video broadcasts of the
courts would undermine the dignity of our court system. I disagree. Television
broadcasts of real court proceedings, the goals of which are to administer justice, will
promote public understanding and, in turn, heighten respect for our courts and the rule
of law.
I am pleased to announce that the state’s new Judicial Branch Building will be
equipped with everything needed to broadcast proceedings of the Iowa Supreme Court
and the Iowa Court of Appeals.
© 2001 Cornell College and
League of Women Voters of Iowa
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Last update: Fri Jan 12 13:35:00 CST 2001
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