Arizona Judicial Council | June 2019 Update

Announcements

 

The Arizona Judicial Council met on Monday, June 17.  The next meeting is scheduled on Thursday, October 24, 2019 at Little America Hotel, Flagstaff, AZ.

This was the last Arizona Judicial Council (AJC) meeting as members for Presiding Judge Janet Barton, Chief Judge Peter Eckerstrom, Chief Judge Sam Thumma, public member Ken Bennett, and State Bar president Jeff Willis.

This was also the last meeting for the Chair, Chief Justice Scott Bales, who will retire from the Court at the end of July.

 

Next Meetings:
Thursday, October 24, 2019 | Little America, Flagstaff

Thursday, December 12, 2019 | State Courts Building, Phoenix

Commission on Technology

Karl Heckert briefed members on the activities from the recent annual Commission on Technology (COT) meeting including the list of fiscal year priorities (below) and sought Council support on the following:

 

Approve the addition of a second factor to the login process for court staff having elevated credentials, policy setting or decision-making responsibility, or access to sensitive information. Any device accessing the court network must be queried for the second factor and must be reverified every 30 days. – AJC Supports

Approve an ongoing 2.5 percent annual increase in JCEF subscription charges for Fiscal Years 2021 through 2026 as a component of the long-term, gap-closing strategy recommended by the Commission on Technology. COT recommends that the subscription charge structure be revisited for FY27 and beyond. – AJC Supports

Approve the FY20 JCEF automation budget, as recommended by the Commission on Technology.  Approve the JCEF non-automation court programs budget and the JCEF probation budget, as recommended by the AOC Administrative Director and as appropriated by the Legislature. – AJC Supports

Commission on Technology’s strategic information technology priorities for FY2020-2023 are:

1.            Production Support (incl. bug fixes, req. chgs)

2.            Manage & Improve Security (incl. COOP rvw)

3.            Finish Core System Deployments (GJ/ LJ)

4.            Mitigate Aging Technology Risk

5.            Increase Revenue Flow (FARE, eAccess, eFile)

6.            Increase Data Utilization (ex. access & BI)

7.            Public Facing Services (ex. eFile, eAccess, eNotification, ODR)

8.            Integrate Systems to Improve Productivity and Capability

9.            Enhance Core Systems w/New Functionality

Judicial Branch Legislative Update
Jerry Landau and Amy Love reviewed the 2019 legislative session.   A summary of the bills is available below.
https://www.azcourts.gov/Portals/84/MeetingMaterials/2019/June/TAB_3_AJC_Leg.pdf

Arizona Code of Judicial Administration (ACJA)
Marcus Reinskensmeyer discussed the FARE program and proposed amendments to ACJA §5-205: Collections that would better reflect the FARE program.  Marcus sought Council support on the creation of a new $9 DSO/TIP fee for each state tax interception from agencies that do not take part in FARE, to offset the use of running the DSO program. – AJC Supports

 

Small Claims Pilot Report

Retired Judge Steve McMurray and Marretta Mathes updated members on the Small Claims Pilot Committee and sought Council support on the Committee’s recommendations about which model to implement statewide and approval of the draft rules in the pending rule petition.

 

Since the pilot, small claims processing has improved everywhere.  The current rule change petition will make the improvements available statewide.  Recommend rules for process that include using technology to monitor and track cases. – AJC Supports

 

Small Claims Pilot Program: Report and Recommendations to the Arizona Judicial Council Report

Ex Parte Protection Orders – Time Standards

Marretta Mathes presented on behalf of the Steering Committee on Arizona Case Processing Standards.
The Committee reviewed the data for ex parte protection orders and recommended a final case processing standard of 99 percent within 24 hours. – AJC Supports

Report on “Enhancing Court and Probation Practices for Cases Involving Juveniles Who Commit Sexually Abusive Behaviors”
Joe Kelroy and Dr. Kurt Bumby (via phone), Center for Effective Public Policy, presented the final report and asked for Council support to approve the final report and its recommendations.  They provided an overview of the advisory committee from Arizona’s five largest counties and its study and results.  – AJC Supports

Court Security Officer Academy
Jeff Schrade presented an update on the first Court Security Officer Certification Academy. Arizona has approximately 500 court security officers in 160 court locations, between court employees and law enforcement individuals, approximately 175 of whom carry weapons. Seventeen individuals from 11 counties and cities attended the first academy. The Academy will be part of the certification process of standardized training to become a certified Court Security Officer and will eventually incorporate the Firearms Academy and its standards.

Justice for the Future: Planning for Excellence

Justice Brutinel provided an overview of his five-year strategic agenda: Justice for the Future: Planning for Excellence. Many of the judiciary’s imperatives continue from prior agendas into this one. This agenda includes new plans for using technology to improve and track the courts’ effectiveness, to resolve more cases and payments online, and to respond to escalating cyber threats. The agenda calls for responding better to mental health issues in the courts, improving access to justice for self-represented litigants, establishing a trial judge training academy, and many other initiatives.