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More Information Public Defender System Functional Requirements

Overview

In recent months, JTAC and the Indiana Public Defender Council have struck a partnership to begin the design and development of Indiana Public Defender, a statewide computer system that will be made available to public defenders through the Council.  This system will interface seamlessly with the Odyssey Case Management System that is being implemented by JTAC in trial courts and clerk’s offices throughout the state, which will undoubtedly eliminate several data entry tasks that public defenders and their staff may be performing currently.  More importantly, this system will enhance the sharing of information among these agencies.

Last year, a list of 150 requirements was compiled, resulting from discussions involving participation by various Indiana public defenders, and representatives of the Indiana Public Defender Council and the Indiana Public Defender Commission.  This list was later prioritized and vetted by members of the Indiana Public Defender Council.

Public Defender System Functional Requirements

This year, development has commenced on a prototype of the system, the first step in the development process.  Additionally, a Public Defender Working Group has been established to provide input to the detailed requirements and system design.  The Working Group is comprised of a broad representation of anticipated users, e.g. full-time public defenders, private attorneys who provide public defense services on a part-time basis, and public defender office administrators.  Members include:

• Attorney Lorinda Youngcourt of Huron, Indiana
• Attorney Douglas R. Long of Anderson, Indiana
• Mark Stamper, Henry County Chief Public Defender
• Ann Sutton, Chief Counsel, Marion County Public Defender Agency  (Proxy: Kenneth Williams, Investigative Paralegal)
• Deborah Outcalt, Office Administrator, Office of Monroe County Public Defender

The first release of Indiana Public Defender is targeted for pilot by early fall 2009.

Sample Features

Although one of the most significant features of the Public Defender System will be its ability to interface with the Odyssey Case Management System, several other noteworthy features are planned to be incorporated into the system, including:

• Notifications and alerts.  Attorneys will be notified of upcoming hearings and alerted in instances in which a client has been rearrested, violates probation conditions, or has open warrants.
• Attorney assignment.  The system will support assignment of clients to an attorney in a variety of methods, including automatic, manual, or bulk.
• Calendaring.  Scheduling and calendaring functionality will be offered for attorneys, including conflict checking.
• Case and client demographic information.  The system will provide access to data maintained in the judicial case management system (Odyssey CMS), as well as enable public defenders to maintain additional information about their clients.
• Forms and reports.  Public defenders will be able to generate required or essential forms and reports out-of-the-box, such as caseload reports, statistics in case duration, change in pleas and offers, attorney success rates, etc.
• Witness information tracking.  The system will enable public defenders to tracking information on witness, including interview notes and depositions.

Contact Information

If you would like more information about the Public Defender System project, contact Mary DePrez at (317) 234-2604 (Fax: 317-234-2605) or mdeprez@jtac.in.gov.