Indiana Supreme Court Justice Frank Sullivan, Jr.

Indiana Supreme Court Justice Frank Sullivan, Jr., praised Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels’s administration’s strong support for improved court technology in a speech to a plenary session at the National Court Technology Conference in Denver Wednesday, September 23, 2009.

The National Court Technology Conference, known as CTC 2009, is sponsored by the National Center for State Courts and brings together the most progressive and accomplished court professionals with the most current innovations in technology.  Justice Sullivan was invited to address a plenary session because of his experience leading Indiana's efforts in court technology projects, according to Jesse Rutledge, Vice President of External Affairs of the National Center for State Courts.  Sullivan has chaired the Indiana Supreme Court’s Judicial Technology and Automation Committee (JTAC) since its inception in 1999.

“I am of the view that there is no State in this country where there is closer and more constructive collaboration on technology between the judicial and executive branches of government than we have in Indiana,” Justice Sullivan said in his speech.  “Indiana courts exchange court information electronically with agencies throughout the Daniels Administration in a way that increases public safety and saves taxpayers money.”

Justice Sullivan cited as one example the fact that every single traffic court in Indiana now notifies the Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) electronically of the disposition of all traffic infractions; previously, it took weeks for court staff to prepare paper disposition reports, mail them to the BMV, and BMV staff to re-enter the data by hand.  “This enhances public safety by keeping driver’s records up to date – a police officer who makes a traffic stop now knows if the driver’s license is suspended,” said Sullivan, “and it saves taxpayers money by eliminating paper disposition reports by court staff and manual re-entry of data at the BMV.”
 
In addition to projects with the BMV, Justice Sullivan said that Indiana courts also exchange court information electronically with the Indiana State Police, Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS), Indiana Department of Revenue, and the Indiana State Department of Health as agencies in the Daniels Administration.  In addition, Justice Sullivan said, the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute, the Indiana Office of Technology, the State Board of Accounts, and the Indiana Department of Homeland Security, all agencies within the Daniels Administration, have strongly supported the work of JTAC in improving court technology.

Justice Sullivan singled out for particular recognition the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute, the Chairman of its Board of Trustees, John R. von Arx, and its executive director, Dr. T. Neil Moore.  “The Criminal Justice Institute, through its leadership and funding, has been instrumental in fostering many of the collaborative projects that Indiana courts have successfully undertaken with executive branch agencies.  It has been a central force in our success.”

Justice Sullivan also expressed appreciation to the State Legislature. “Without the Indiana General Assembly’s support of JTAC and its projects, we could not have made the progress we have,” he said. 

In his speech, Justice Sullivan listed the following examples in addition to the BMV project as “evidence of the strong working relationship between the judicial and executive branches of Indiana state government”:

• Every single domestic violence court notifies local law enforcement, the State Police, and the FBI electronically upon the issuance of each protection order;
• The State Police and 120 other sheriff and police departments in Indiana use software developed by JTAC to issue electronic traffic citations and filed those citations with the court;
• Juvenile probation officers notify DCS electronically of delinquency cases for which DCS will be financing services for the youth involved;
• The Revenue Department uses software developed by JTAC to notify county clerks of outstanding tax warrants; and
• Clerks notify the State Health Department electronically when marriage licenses are issued.”

Justice Sullivan said that each of these individual projects is part of a much more ambitious initiative on the part of the Indiana Supreme Court to equip all Indiana courts with a uniform 21st century case management system called Odyssey that will connect electronically all courts with each other and with law enforcement, state agencies, and others that need and use court information.  Installation of Odyssey is a multi-year project that is approximately 20% complete.