State of the Judiciary: Chief justice says new tech is increasing access to courts

In her annual address to state lawmakers, Indiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Loretta Rush said the state’s courts are keeping up with an increasing caseload and boosting Hoosier access to the judicial system by making the most of new technology.

“Today, I want to pull back the curtain a bit and demystify the judiciary’s role in the 1.1 million new cases filed in our courts last year,” Rush said in her annual State of the Judiciary address in the chambers of the Indiana House of Representatives on Jan. 29.

She said there were more cases filed in Indiana’s trial courts last year than in all of the nation’s federal courts combined.

Cameras in courtrooms, live-streamed hearings and online court calendars are just some of the examples Rush gave of what the courts are doing to enhance access to justice despite a burgeoning caseload.

She said the court also is piloting the use of artificial intelligence. Rush cited Marion County, which has used AI to reduce the time and cost of producing court transcripts.

“Where it used to take weeks or months to get that record, it now takes only minutes,” Rush said.

The pilot project

The AI pilot project is narrowly focused on the appeals of mental health commitment cases in which people are temporarily and involuntarily hospitalized because they are mentally ill or deemed a danger to themselves or others.

A temporary mental health commitment is allowed for up to 90 days. But if an individual wanted to appeal that commitment, it used to take up to 150 days just to prepare briefing materials and transcripts from previous court hearings.

So by the time the appeal was ready for hearing, the person’s involuntary commitment already had ended. Consequently, the appeals court could provide no relief and would dismiss the case as moot.

Under the Marion County pilot project, transcripts can now be generated within minutes and cases often can be decided on appeal within a month.

Greg Pachmayr, clerk of the Indiana Appellate Courts, said there have seven cases that reached the appellate courts under the pilot project and decisions have been reached on average within 31 days.

“Cutting it down from over 150 days down to 31 days is amazing. It’s just a pilot project. It’s very narrow, but it seems to be working extremely well. And I’m happy with how it’s going,” Pachmayr said.

Amitav Thamba, chief technology officer for Marion Superior Courts, handles the technology side of the pilot project.

“This is one of those areas where we feel that we can make judicial efficiencies a lot more and also be able to provide the service that a lot of people are asking for,” Thamba said.

The pilot project is six months into its two years. Pachmayr said he can’t speculate on the future of the pilot but that they are seeing increased efficiencies.

“Which is a great thing as far as I’m concerned,” Pachmayr said.

Thamba added that he has worked with the judges in Marion County and does not want to expand the project without a written and clear AI use policy in place.

“So until that gets done, all of these will remain in a very self-contained pilot, because we can’t make a mistake. We’re not allowed the luxury of a mistake,” Thamba said.

So far, there haven’t been any issues reported with the transcription software.

“In my book, this is a huge win,” he said.

Access to justice

Other access to justice initiatives Rush mentioned in her State of the Judiciary address included MyCase and INJail.

MyCase is a free, public website that provides access to information about civil and criminal cases in courts across the state. It’s a tool for attorneys, litigants, and the public to track the progress of legal proceedings.

INJail is an initiative that the court has been attempting to start that would create one integrated system that would collect and report statewide jail population data. It would also share fingerprint data. Currently, there are 20 different jail management software systems in the state.

“We remain committed to working with you all to improve public safety throughout the state,” Rush said.

She went before the State Budget Committee in November and requested $3 million in the state budget for implementing INJail. However, Legislature’s current budget proposal does not show an increase like that for the high court’s technology.

“Though we are separate branches with separate responsibilities, we are a team because we have all been called to public service to build a stronger state for all Hoosiers,” Rush said.

“Our work can be difficult, and yes it has challenges and even setbacks. But we draw sustenance from that divine spark in each of us. One that prompts us to serve as instruments of protecting children and families, enhancing economic stability, strengthening public safety, and promoting access to justice.”•