3 October 2005
Missouri Judiciary website honored as one of 10 best
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Missouri Judiciary website, www.courts.mo.gov, is one of the 10 best court-related websites and a "solid model for state court content," according to Justice Served, an alliance of court management and justice experts who reviewed more than 3,000 court websites throughout the world this year. The 2005 award is Missouri's second; the state judicial branch website first earned the award in 2000.
In honoring the Missouri Judiciary website for its commitment to superior public service, Justice Served recognized the implementation of Case.net, which provides Internet access to certain public case information in the Missouri state courts' automated case management system. Justice Served also recognized Missouri's online fine collection, calendar listings, Supreme Court opinions and JEWELS (Judicial Education Web Learning System).
"It is an honor to know that our efforts to make Missouri's court system more accessible and clear to the public have been recognized as a national technology model," Chief Justice Michael A. Wolff said. "We are proud of Case.net and the rest of our website's content, and we plan to continue working to improve the Missouri Judiciary's Internet presence."
Missouri Judiciary technology staff designed and built Case.net based on the suggestions of judges and court clerks from around the state. It lets Internet users view information about litigants and attorneys involved in a case; docket entries, which reflect all the actions that have occurred in the case; charge and sentence information in a criminal case and judgments in a civil case; and hearings and trials scheduled in the case. Case.net currently is available for the Supreme Court, the Missouri Court of Appeals and about two-thirds of the state's trial courts. In 2002, Case.net earned the Center for Digital Government's "Best of the Breed Award," and in 2003, Missouri's judicial technology systems received the international "Computerworld Honors Laureate" award.
Among the criteria Justice Served uses in evaluating websites are user friendliness, access to information, and the availability of court forms and case indexes. Other 2005 winners were from northern Australia and from across the United States.
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