Overview

The Indiana Supreme Court Judicial Technology and Automation Committee (JTAC) is offering access to e-mail and the Internet for all trial courts and county clerks. This equipment is made possible by a grant from the Criminal Justice Institute and is focused upon bringing all of Indiana's trial court judicial officers and clerks onto the Internet for the purpose of better serving Indiana's citizens through a network of electronic communication and legal research by and among members of the judicial branch of Indiana state government.

We hope that this is just the first of many steps we take together over the next several years to develop and install case management systems in all of Indiana's trial court and clerks' offices. We look forward to working with you and all of Indiana's courts and clerks in order to provide 21st Century service to Hoosiers through the information technology of the new millennium.

JTAC believes that it is extremely important to all judicial officers and county clerk courts to have access to e-mail and the Internet. More and more, the various Indiana Supreme Court agencies will utilize e-mail and the Internet to communicate with court and clerk personnel in the state. At some point, case clips, administrative notices, newsletters and other materials will be sent only via electronic mail or posted for access on a website. Moreover, legal research using LexisNexis requires a computer and access to the web. Future developments in collaboration using web portals will also require judges to be familiar with the web and email as mediums of information exchange.

Frequently Asked Questions about the JTAC Email/Internet Initiative

What has happened since the start of this initiative? When JTAC started this project only about 30% of all judges in the state had e-mail and access to the Internet. Now approximately 90% of all judges have access. JTAC has purchased over 130 new computers and distributed approximately 100 used computers on this project.

Who is eligible? Trial court judges in courts of record and county clerks.

Who do I contact to take advantage of this opportunity? The JTAC staff member coordinating this project is Mary Kronoshek. She can be contacted at 317-234-2710 or via email at mkronoshek@jtac.in.gov.

What are the specifications of the computers? The computers are high end Pentium III computers: 800 plus megahertz, 17" monitor, 256 Ram, and shipped with Microsoft Office.

Who will own the computer? The computer will be the property of the trial court or county clerk's office, respectively. These machines are not meant, of course, to become the personal property of the judge or clerk.

What happens after the one year of free e-mail? The expectation is that the county will pick up the expense of e-mail / Internet access in the same manner as they pay for access to a telephone.

Can I get a laptop instead of a desktop? Yes, you can get a laptop. To do so, you should contact Mary Kronoshek and ask for reimbursement. JTAC will only reimburse up to $1500 for a laptop. As a result, if you want a laptop that costs more than $1500 you will have to find additional funding for full coverage.

What about high speed access? You may obtain high speed access, but JTAC will only pay for the price of dial-up access (approximately $20 per month) at this point. The remaining amount will have to come from other sources.