3 Municipal Courts Pioneering Change in the Cloud
November 06, 2024 by Marlin Jones
At the center of municipal courthouse operations are the administrators driving the enhancement of court services and systems. Tasked with bringing together courts, judges, prosecutors, and city staff, court administrators embrace the role of advocating for a more efficient justice system.
I often see the most successful advocates as those with strong voices, those calling for modern change in municipal courts. Sonya Cates, court administrator with the City of Alvin, Texas, positions it as, “How can I make this better? Faster? More efficient?”
Cates is just one of many court administrators I have the pleasure of working with — Danille Trujillo, court administrator at Littleton Municipal Court, Colorado, and Jessica Stephens, court administrator at Little Elm Municipal Court, Texas, are two more all-stars carrying the torch to the future — a future that lives in the cloud. Collectively, they understand and embrace what the cloud is bestowing on justice operations. They are championing this technological shift, moving the needle with stakeholders through the invaluable position that modern case management technology has on pushing justice practices forward.
Now, change often puts people at a crossroad and resistance is real. However, resistance is not an opposition but rather a need to understand where you are going and why.
Having set the tone for automation and innovation in the cloud, I’d like to share why these three administrators choose to pioneer change in their municipal court.
Why municipal courts should want to host case management in the cloud
1. Offloading server maintenance and costs
Historically, municipal courts operate on their own servers. With little resources to maintain them, courts may struggle to maximize time and outcomes, especially within rural areas or small IT teams. In encouraging IT to embrace switching to a hosted environment, Trujillo emphasized they “had a server that was outdated,” with not enough resources to sustain it long-term. With time, she knew they “were going to have to replace it, which is expensive.” For Stephens, “the town of Little Elm prides itself on running lean, so a hosted method was the best decision for us.” Offloading the maintenance and costs of on-premises servers reduces the burden on both Trujillo and Stephens’ IT teams, freeing up space and expenses for other priorities. Conversely, remaining stagnant often results in more pushback and abrupt change. Courts can’t risk waiting for inefficiencies and declines in on-premises technology to catch up with them.
2. Better security and protection measures
Speaking of sneaking up, so are cybersecurity threats. With ransomware incidents rising in local government, “it was the right time for us to choose a hosted environment and really think about the security of our data,” says Trujillo. It’s important to address no longer storing data on site in a modern era, which can be more susceptible to security breaches. “Being in a hosted environment offers more security than what my IT team can provide and put into [an onsite] server,” echoes Cates.
Located on the Gulf Coast, Cates also encourages certain geographical locations to be proactive in their system protection. “We experience a lot of weather like hurricanes and flooding that can affect our on-premises server. Focusing on being hosted, I reduced those costs, and I don’t have to worry about [potential weather] damages anymore,” says Cates. Built for governmental compliance to ensure the safety of information, meet reporting requirements, and help protect against threats or disasters, hosted cloud technology is a win for municipal courts.
3. Speedy onboarding and training
In the new era of job seekers or for those who’ve worked in the industry for decades, an easy user experience empowers staff to quickly get up to speed on new technology. Trujillo mentions “there may be 25 different ways to complete a task, but the system shows you what buttons to click to be the most efficient. [The built-in training] allows users to go through processes how they were intended to be used. It allows for new employees to jump in, feel engaged with the software, and learn things that are practical for everyday use.” Standard training creates standard workflows, limiting the liability and risk of human error. While automated training provides consistent user experiences, enhancing learning not only when you switch, but for also onboarding new hires.
4. Expanding access
Cloud is part of everyday living. From Office 365 to streaming services, the browser-based platform of the cloud is moving technology forward and setting the standard for automation and innovation. For courts, it’s about creating efficiencies that feed access to justice. Specifically for Stephens, she praises “not having to download [latest versions of] the software on five or six different laptops. This means we get started [on work] easier.”
Also highlighting the flexibility of the cloud to enhance and expand court usage, Cates shares, “There is no downtime. When I have warrants ready for our part time judge, he can look at his queue [from anywhere], so we can keep everything running without waiting until he’s back in office. Motions are filed and reviewed quicker, and the defense attorneys are settled a lot faster.”
A new era of justice in the cloud
These three municipal courts are making tremendous strides to move to the cloud. Having used their voices to advocate for forward-thinking justice, they are influencing positive change in operational efficiency, staff and justice partner satisfaction, and protection of sensitive information. They’ve solidified their seat at the table, and it’s been inspiring to be part of the impact they’ve had on their communities with a modern experience in the cloud.