Kansas Supreme Court reappoints eCourt Steering Committee members

TOPEKA—Chief Justice Lawton Nuss of the Kansas Supreme Court reappointed members to the eCourt Steering Committee, which is overseeing implementation of a centralized case management system that will allow all district and appellate case data to reside on a single web-based platform, transforming the way state courts serve the people of Kansas.

Supreme Court Justice Dan Biles chairs the committee. Other members reappointed for one-year terms were:

• Chief Judge Karen Arnold-Burger of the Kansas Court of Appeals.

• Christine Blake, clerk of the district court in Finney County of the 25th Judicial District.

• William Burns Jr., district court administrator of the 29th Judicial District, composed of Wyandotte County.

• Nancy Dixon, judicial administrator, Office of Judicial Administration.

• Kelly O'Brien, director of information systems, Office of Judicial Administration.

• Katherine Oliver, clerk of the district court in Riley County of the 21st Judicial District.

• Chief Judge Michael Powers of the 8th Judicial District, composed of Dickinson, Geary, Marion, and Morris counties.

• Chief Judge Thomas Kelly Ryan of the 10th Judicial District, composed of Johnson County.

• Doug Shima, clerk of the appellate courts.

• Supreme Court Justice Caleb Stegall.

• Senior Judge David Stutzman.

• District Magistrate Judge Debra Wright, serving in Mitchell County of the 12th Judicial District.

Installation of the centralized case management system is a key component in the Kansas Supreme Court's eCourt plan. It will complete the conversion from local, paper-driven processes to a statewide electronic one.

The Supreme Court's vision for Kansas eCourt:

• More efficient, effective court operations, and increased access to justice for the people of Kansas.

• Enabling web-based access to court information.

• Standardized statewide case processing that enables workshare and provides a consistent user experience.

The conversion to the centralized case management system is expected to take three to four years.

Once the system is designed and completed, it will be launched in a phased roll-out beginning next year.

The judicial branch entered into an $11.5 million contract with Tyler Technologies of Plano, Texas, to customize and use its Odyssey Case Manager™ system.

The 2014 Legislature established the Electronic Filing and Case Management Fund with deposits from docket fees dedicated to finalizing the efiling project and implementing centralized case management under the Supreme Court's eCourt plan. By statute, each year through fiscal year 2021, the first $3.1 million received in docket fee revenue will be deposited into that fund. In fiscal year 2022 and later years, the first $1.5 million in docket fee revenue is directed into the fund for eCourt maintenance.