Information technology leaders in Ohio’s judicial system are banding together to share ideas and solve IT challenges.

The Court IT Leaders Forum is an electronic collaboration space for court staff who manage technology to exchange information and advice.

The Supreme Court of Ohio has surveyed and gathered data for years about technology used across the state’s judiciary and offered the information to courts that reach out for guidance.

“Practically any technology you’re considering implementing at a court has been done by someone else,” said Robert Stuart, the Supreme Court’s director of IT who is coordinating the forum.

The IT Leaders Forum, which has already drawn 180 members, opens an online channel for Ohio’s court technology leaders to communicate directly with each other individually or as a group. Participants can pose questions, post answers, and circulate documents.

Stuart likens the group to the existing associations that connect court leaders in different roles, such as judges, magistrates, clerks of court, court administrators, and court reporters.

“The forum will give IT leaders a collective voice in the court community,” he said.

‘Ask IT’ Service
In the next month, the Supreme Court will utilize the IT Leaders Forum to launch another service called “Ask IT” for Ohio courts. It’s a recommendation made last year by the Improving Court Operations Using Remote Technology Task Force, known as iCOURT.

Not only can forum members submit questions within the group for input and answers, but a designated email will be set up for courts generally to use when seeking answers about technology. The email is a way for courts that don’t have a member on the IT Leaders Forum or with limited technology resources to request answers from, and collaborate with, the forum members.

Supreme Court IT staff will monitor the emails and route the questions to the forum members for input and responses. Questions and answers will be collected and posted to the forum’s online archive for future reference by other courts.

Hot topics may be case management systems (CMS), real-world experiences with tech tools, existing software that must interface with CMS, and workflow. Another key area of interest to all courts is cybersecurity, from hurdles to fixes.

At the core of these collaborative services are benefits associated with crowdsourcing – the best minds working together to brainstorm solutions.

“The broader the input courts have on IT issues, the better the output and solutions,” Stuart said.

In the long term, Stuart thinks the services will enable courts to evaluate an array of software and other technology and to identify better practices. There’s potential to save time and money, while making courts more accessible and more efficient.

For additional information about the IT Leaders Forum or Ask IT, contact Randall Drum in the Court’s IT Office at randall.drum@sc.ohio.gov.