Washington Courts: Judicial News Report Detail

Courts on the Internet

Have you visited a court “on-line” lately?

If not, chances are you soon will, as increasing numbers of courts across the nation join the electronic “global village.”

A literal explosion of information and interest in the World Wide Web (WWW) -- the fastest and most advanced area of the Internet -- has helped to put courts a mere “mouse” click away from anywhere in the world. Now, citizens can find out the hours of operation at the Yakima County Courthouse or print out the most recent decision of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Why the Internet?

The Internet gives citizens the ability to access near-instant information about courts without having to call or drive to a local courthouse, saving time and expense not only for citizens, but for court personnel as well.

According to James Hambleton, law professor and Executive Director of the Law Library at Texas Wesleyan University School of Law, the WWW also provides a great opportunity to educate the public about courts.

“The World Wide Web holds a great deal of promise for disseminating court information. Court homepages can provide links to opinions and scheduling and docket information. Other links could provide citizens a history of the court, a description of what serving as a juror entails, and a map of the courthouse. Pictures and biographies of the judges and court personnel would help personalize the justice system. An audio clip from the chief justice could welcome users to the court,” Hambleton explained in a recent article for Court Technology Bulletin. “The Web can make your court an active member of the global village.”

Court home pages

Current homepages showcase courts from small county courthouses to the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C.

Florida’s “Judicial on-line superhighway,” or JOSHUA, is an impressive example of how courts can use the Internet as an outreach tool. JOSHUA offers Internet browsers information on every aspect of the Florida court system, including information about mediation and family law rules of procedure. It also supplies up-to-the-minute state Supreme Court opinions and automatic links to other court homepages across the nation. JOSHUA’s Internet address is http://justice.courts.state.fl.us/.

Besides Florida, several state Supreme Courts, including those in Alaska, North Carolina and Vermont, post their decisions on the Internet. Current opinions and other legal information can also be found on law school homepages. The most highly acclaimed, is sponsored by the Legal Information Institute at Cornell law school. Its Internet address is, http://www.law. cornell.edu/.

Courts in Washington state are also beginning to post information on the Internet, usually by linking with a city or local homepage. Yakima County Superior Court offers hours of operation and provides answers to questions frequently asked of court personnel.

A Washington court homepage

In late January, “net browsers” may be able to get access to a variety of informational items relating to Washington courts, when the Office of the Administrator for the Courts debuts a new homepage on the Internet.

While somewhat more limited in scope than Florida’s JOSHUA system, OAC’s Virginia Neal, designer of the new page, says it will offer a wide range of information to the general population and to court “users,” including printouts of marriage dissolution forms, a historical look at the Washington state court system, and information for judges on judicial education.

Accessible via several electronic avenues, including the Washington State homepage, citizens will be able to get direct access using this address: http://www.wa.gov/courts.

Contents of the homepage

At the beginning, the new home page will mainly feature text rather than graphics, assuring quick access for home computer users.

Some of the items now being considered for the OAC homepage:

• Recent research reports and press announcements released by OAC.

· General publications, including A Citizen’s Guide to Washington Courts, and Citizens and Their Courts - Building a Public Constituency.

• State Law Library informational brochures.

• Judicial education information.

• “Judges in the Classroom” lesson plans, high school mock trial cases and court history information.

• Domestic violence information, including information on court orders, the domestic violence protection order process, a safety plan for domestic violence victims, a list of community resources, shelters, and organizations that can help, pro se assistance services, and information on batterers’ treatment programs.

• Domestic relations information, including forms and do-it yourself instructions.

• Other court forms and instructions.

Organizers of the homepage stress that input from the public and court personnel will be essential in updating and improving the Internet site.

“This will be very much a trial period until we can sell this to the public and say, ‘What do you think of this? Is it something that you really want?’” concluded Neal.

Court homepages and Internet addresses

• Alaska Supreme Court Decisions
http://www.touchngo.com/sp/sp.htm

• Burbank Municipal Court, California
http://www.courts.org/Burbank/burbank.htm

• Indiana Judicial Decisions
http://www.indiana.edu/law/in/incourts.html

• Legal Information Institute - Cornell Law
http://www.law.cornell.edu/

• Federal Judicial Center
http://www.fjc.gov/

• Florida’s judicial online super-highway user access system (JOSHUA)
http://justice.courts.state.fl.us/

• National Center for State Courts
http://www.ncsc.dni.us/

• New York Court of Appeals Decisions
http://www.law.cornell.edu/ny/ctap/overview.html

• North Carolina Court of Appeals Decisions
http://www.nando.net/insider/appeals.html

• North Carolina Supreme Court Decisions
http://www.nando.net/insider/supreme/supco.html

• Oregon Peer Court
http://www.ncn.com/~snews/peerct/open.htm

• Texas State District Courts in Harris County
http://www.harris-co.courts.state.tx.us/~hcdc

• Vermont Supreme Court Decisions
gopher://dol.state.vt.us

First time on the Internet?
Tips for finding your way around

To access the Internet, first you must have a telephone line hooked up to your personal computer, or to a connecting local area network with such capability. Then, a service must be purchased to access the Internet, such as Compuserve, NSCA Mosaic, Netscape, or another on-line service.

Once on the Internet, finding your way around can be quite a challenge. Each homepage has its own address, usually prefaced by http://www. for homepages located on the World Wide Web. The biggest challenge: knowing the address of the location you want to go to.

Without a specific address, one of the easiest ways to find your way around the Web is though an access tool that helps you find Internet sites on various topics. One of the most popular, is a “search engine” entitled Yahoo http://www.yahoo.com/. Yahoo allows you to quickly search for keywords throughout the estimated 100,000 web sites. For instance, if you look up “state courts,” Yahoo will bring up a list of courts ranging from the Alaska Supreme Court to the Vermont Supreme Court. Each list will be highlighted in a bright color. Double click on the court you want to visit, and you will be directly transferred to the site.

But be forewarned--accessing homepages is not always a quick process. Often, too many people attempt to access a certain site, causing your computer to respond with a “time out -- try-again” message. According to the Seattle Public Library, the best way to avoid this problem is to access the Internet between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m., PST.

Internet Terminology

World Wide Web:

A hypertext-based system on the Internet that enables a user to access resources on the Internet by using a mouse and without typing a series of command lines. Also called the “Web” or “WWW.”

Homepage:

The first screen containing information you see when you arrive at a site on the World Wide Web (WWW). Includes general information about an organization plus options or links to other WWW sites.

Browser:

A computer program used to read a hypertext document. Examples include MOSAIC, NETSCAPE, and CELLO.

Hypertext:

A system in which text, images and sounds are linked that allows a user to browse through related topics.