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Washington Courts: Press Release Detail
A new, fully-automated statewide caseload report
May 23, 2000
Beginning this week, court users and the public can access statewide caseload trends through a click of the mouse and a stroke of one's keyboard. The newly automated Caseloads of the Courts of Washington is now online, and accessible via the Washington Courts Homepage at www.courts.wa.gov. Online for years in straight text, the new "online-only" version is multi-dimensional, with several added features, including information on the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Superior Courts and Courts of Limited Jurisdictions in new, current-month, year-to-date and annual tables.
The new look
This updated version of the caseload report allows access to all statewide court data in two, easy-to-use formats: data "html" tables and "pdf" reports. Using your computer's web browser, the html format allows quick and easy access to specific statistical tables. Viewed via free, Adobe Acrobat software, the pdf format allows users to print multiple tables as a single report. (Adobe Acrobat software is available on the Washington Courts Homepage site for downloading. If you have questions on how to install, please contact your local area network supervisor or the OAC Help Center).
Several agencies, as well as the Washington State Legislature have offered documents in past years with the "pdf" format due to its viewing and print capabilities. Acrobat Reader allows users to 'zoom' into text online, creating an easier read, and the flexibility to print a compiled report, to any degree of detail.
Rigorous testing
To ready the caseload report for its expanded online debut, the OAC Caseload Team--Ferdinand Ang, Yun Bauer, Jenni Christopher, Jennifer Creighton, Mary Foley and Sandy May--have concentrated on making the site user-friendly for court managers and judges.
The team has finalized procedures for the automated transmission of data and ensured that instructions for navigating through the various caseload tables are clear. Steps required to print all or portions of the report were also reviewed for reliability.
Visitors logging onto the caseloads site will first be greeted by a letter from Mary McQueen, state court administrator. Users may then access an in-depth "help" directory, and another "information" page describing what courts are listed within the tables and information on the web publication cycle. Once reading through those pages, users are ready to go online to caseload report.
Phase two
The caseload team is currently working on 'phase two' of the online caseload report design, which will include a query tool to allow court professionals and others to input requests and receive instantaneous responses on a multitude of topics. Users will be able to query caseload data on a five-year window, such as comparing 2000 caseload data back to 1996 for specific courts and case types. The query is seen as an improved court management tool, and will allow access to court data 24-hours a day, 7 days a week. The second phase is anticipated to be ready in March of 2001.
Where to go for help
With a goal of providing court managers and policy makers with more complete, reliable and current information throughout the year, the new automated approach hopes to breakdown access barriers by providing direct access to Washington's Court data.
While the new report is expected to be very user-friendly, anyone with questions or comments concerning the Caseloads of the Courts of Washington is encouraged to e-mail the OAC at the following e-mail addresses:
Non-court users: caseloads@courts.wa.gov
Court users: helpcenter@courts.wa.gov
SIDEBAR:
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
- How do I get to the report?
- Courts with Internet access will connect directly to the Washington Courts Homepage, and will need to click on "Caseloads of the Courts of Washington" (If you do not directly link to the Washington Courts Homepage, please let the OAC Help Center know at (360) 357-2412).
- What if our court doesn't have Internet access?
- Any court without Internet access can connect to the Washington Courts Homepage through its network connection to the Judicial Information System.
- Will the old, hardcopy report still be available?
- While the traditional, annual caseload report will no longer be published, users will be able to print the report, in a variety of combinations directly from the World Wide Web. For those court users who are unable to print the report from their computers, annual report editions--by court level--will be available by calling (360) 705-5347.
- Can I bookmark the report for easy access?
- Yes. The direct address to the Caseloads report is www.courts.wa.gov/ caseload/home.cfm. The site is updated each month with new caseload figures, so be sure to hit your "refresh" button each time you access the site.
Washington Courts Media Contacts:
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