When eCourts went live in the final 13 counties this October, officials touted the conversion from paper to electronic filings as a “historic transformation.”
Ryan Boyce, director of the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC), said saving North Carolinians trips to the courthouse and expanding access to records “was the foremost priority, and proud legacy, of the eCourts conversion.”
But the multi-year rollout of the system has been anything but smooth, plagued with delays, software glitches, and data errors that prompted calls from some quarters to hit pause so problems could be addressed. A federal lawsuit alleged people were erroneously arrested multiple times on the same warrant or held in jail longer than they should have been, and court staff who input the data have described the new filing process as more cumbersome and time-consuming than the previous system.
Court administrators have tried to address some of those complaints with Tyler Technologies, the Texas-based vendor chosen in 2019 to create a unified paperless system. But lawmakers told Boyce at a Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Justice and Public Safety last week that court officials in their home districts have not seen the conveniences and cost-savings eCourts was supposed to bring.
Rep. Paul Scott, a Cleveland County Republican, told Boyce that the number of cases his district can handle has “gone down drastically” since eCourts went live there this fall. “We just had grand jury last month, and it took three weeks to input all the indictments,” he said. “Is this just a case of us being new? Is it what everybody else has experienced as it’s gone live, or is this not a case of the speed?”
Boyce said there is a learning curve for people using the system but acknowledged “the application is still slower than it needs to be, and that’s something we’re working with the vendor on.”’
What started as an $85 million, 10-year contract with Tyler Technologies has been amended and extended over the years. AOC agreed to pay the Texas company another $38.5 million in 2020 to integrate eCitation and electronic warrant processing programs.
AOC later extended its contract with Tyler Technologies another five years and included options for supplemental support services at additional cost. The News & Observer reported in October that the total state expenditure on eCourts through 2034 could top $188.8 million.
More changes and additional costs are on the horizon. The system has to be updated to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act for an estimated $200,000 to $300,000, Boyce said.
Lawmakers asked Boyce to provide more specific data for their budgeting process in the coming year that will show updated workflow formulas for clerks, district attorneys, and other court officials so they can make more informed decisions on staffing and see whether the system is saving money.
Boyce told them he would provide what he could, with a caveat. “I would mention that the system versus the old system is not apples to apples,” he said.
