August 11, 2009 | The Tribune
"We want you to go online, not stand in line," he stated to an appreciative audience. His office promoted the accessibility of documents online. When Jackson entered office, paper files were the normal way to file cases. Since the office began going to digital access, the number of cases attorneys have filed electronically has tripled, and without a mandate requiring them to do so. Many other districts with a mandate to file electronically have a lower rate of compliance.
The Harris County District Clerk's office is setting the standard in Texas and in the nation with its online accessibility for filing cases and allowing people to find information. People from all over the country want to see what the office is doing and how it is doing it. Jackson reported he even had a call from a clerk in London who wants to visit and see how the Harris County District is doing what they are doing.
Another subject close to Jackson's heart is jury service. He called it the "most overlooked form of community service." To any jury summons, only 20 percent of those summoned appear. And for those who don't appear? Second and third summons are sent to their residences, creating a total of 13,500 letters a year. The office did some research to find out why turnout was so low and learned that for many people, serving on a jury cuts into their income; they just cannot do work on their jury days and that costs them money. So the court put free Wi-Fi in the jury room, allowing people to at least do some work while waiting. If having Wi-Fi access helps even another 5 percent of those summoned come to jury service, that will save the district, and taxpayers, $100,000 a year. Every additional 5 percent increase in turnout will save taxpayers another $100,000.
On Monday, Aug. 10, the office launched their new Web site. The site offers unparalleled case information and records access to all users. Previously, users of the Web site could see only civil case files. Now users have access to civil and criminal cases and can do local criminal background checks on their own for free. Users can see if someone, such as a job applicant, has prior convictions in Harris County, and it costs only $1 to print a certified document of the case information. The Harris County District Court Clerk���s office new Web site lets users do background checks online, check to see what new cases have been filed, check the status of ongoing cases, and even find naturalization records going back more than a century. In addition, members of the media, and any other interested parties, can track specific cases and get automatic notifications of any new filings. To do any of these activities, or for more information, go to their Web site at www.hcdistrictclerk.com.
- Skye Hughes
Court Clerk's office offers unparalleled access
When Loren Jackson took office eight months ago as Harris County District Court Clerk, he had a vision for the future - a vision of how to use the tools of technology to not only make his office more accessible, but to save the citizens tax money as well. More than 200,000 single cases are filed in Harris County every year, creating more than 5 million pieces of paper. Staff is needed to process, store and maintain all that paper. Instead of continuing with this paper heavy tradition, his office chose to look toward digitizing all information."We want you to go online, not stand in line," he stated to an appreciative audience. His office promoted the accessibility of documents online. When Jackson entered office, paper files were the normal way to file cases. Since the office began going to digital access, the number of cases attorneys have filed electronically has tripled, and without a mandate requiring them to do so. Many other districts with a mandate to file electronically have a lower rate of compliance.
The Harris County District Clerk's office is setting the standard in Texas and in the nation with its online accessibility for filing cases and allowing people to find information. People from all over the country want to see what the office is doing and how it is doing it. Jackson reported he even had a call from a clerk in London who wants to visit and see how the Harris County District is doing what they are doing.
Another subject close to Jackson's heart is jury service. He called it the "most overlooked form of community service." To any jury summons, only 20 percent of those summoned appear. And for those who don't appear? Second and third summons are sent to their residences, creating a total of 13,500 letters a year. The office did some research to find out why turnout was so low and learned that for many people, serving on a jury cuts into their income; they just cannot do work on their jury days and that costs them money. So the court put free Wi-Fi in the jury room, allowing people to at least do some work while waiting. If having Wi-Fi access helps even another 5 percent of those summoned come to jury service, that will save the district, and taxpayers, $100,000 a year. Every additional 5 percent increase in turnout will save taxpayers another $100,000.
On Monday, Aug. 10, the office launched their new Web site. The site offers unparalleled case information and records access to all users. Previously, users of the Web site could see only civil case files. Now users have access to civil and criminal cases and can do local criminal background checks on their own for free. Users can see if someone, such as a job applicant, has prior convictions in Harris County, and it costs only $1 to print a certified document of the case information. The Harris County District Court Clerk���s office new Web site lets users do background checks online, check to see what new cases have been filed, check the status of ongoing cases, and even find naturalization records going back more than a century. In addition, members of the media, and any other interested parties, can track specific cases and get automatic notifications of any new filings. To do any of these activities, or for more information, go to their Web site at www.hcdistrictclerk.com.
- Skye Hughes
Pol. Adv. Paid for by the Loren Jackson Campaign, Brad Beers, Treasurer. Copyright © 2009 Loren Jackson. All rights reserved.
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You can now follow Loren Jackson and his campaign for re-election using Social Media!
