Columbia, Missouri
The Columbia Municipal Court replaced their legacy DOS-based system with JustWare | Municipal Court and now enjoys organization and simplicity for fast in-court case processing and online community access.
AGENCY IMPACT
A well-run court requires organization and simplification. The Columbia Municipal Court realized that after thirteen years, they would need a modern, Windows-based case management solution that would help them achieve both of these goals. Their legacy system, a DOS-based case management database, was highly outdated and inefficient. Records were being overlooked and opportunities for collecting owed fines and fees were being missed. After an extensive search, Columbia selected JustWare | Municipal Court.
Disposing of cases in the courtroom setting is helpful to the public. They can pay their fines and costs and receive their orders immediately after appearing before the judge. They do not have to wait in line while the clerk at the counter enters their conviction information into the system.
Shara Meyer, Court Administrator, Columbia Municipal Court
“We are able to keep track of fines and fees owed by an individual,” explained Shara Meyer, Court Administrator for the Columbia Municipal Court. Their previous system tracked money owed to the court by case and not by name, creating missed opportunities to receive payment on all fines and fees when a person was at the window. “In JustWare, monies due to the court are tied to the individual and not the case itself. Prior to JustWare, we had people that fell through the cracks.”
Columbia now experiences JustWare’s simplicity with its documents. “Being able to print letters, orders, and forms from JustWare is a great benefit to us,” explained Meyer. “We do not have to get out of the system and re-enter the defendant information into Word.” For Columbia, JustWare generates configured, agency-specific documents in a Word format, merging essential information directly from the JustWare database into the document.
Through JustWare, Columbia now disposes of cases in the courtroom. “Disposing of cases in the courtroom setting is helpful to the public,” said Meyer. “They can pay their fines and costs and receive their orders immediately after appearing before the judge. They do not have to wait in line while the clerk at the counter enters their conviction information into the system.” JustWare’s configurable screens, docket and document management, financial management, and fast processing allow Columbia to process cases inside the courtroom.
COMMUNITY IMPACT
Columbia Municipal Court is an extension of the community it operates in; therefore, each solution that New Dawn provides is focused on making not only the court, but also the community of Columbia better.
Columbia Municipal Court installed JusticeWeb Public Portal, an online viewing portal, to allow view-only access to the community. Through JusticeWeb Public Portal, court patrons can view information about their case from a public kiosk at the courthouse. Local law enforcement also received docket updates through the system. “It’s been very helpful to the public in seeking public records,” said Meyer.