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Visit “Gold Country” in California and you’ll find Placer County, located in the greater Sacramento area and home to more than 400,000 residents. The Placer County Superior Court has long embraced technology as a means of improving the administration of justice.
The court has been served for decades by what is today Journal Technologies, most recently implementing eCourt in 2013 and expanding the platform across every case type by 2017. However, as Court Executive Officer Jake Chatters notes, the success of a case management system isn't measured just at its go-live date. "Success is measured over years," Chatters says, emphasizing the value of continuous improvement as technology develops.
Today, nearly every case the Placer County Superior Court handles is entered into the court electronically and remains digital throughout its entire lifecycle. Notices are automatically generated from eCourt, court staff receive documents for e-signature, and justice partners exchange information through an expanding network of interfaces.
Those justice partner integrations have become increasingly important as the court continues modernizing its operations. In recent years, Placer County has implemented electronic filing with California’s Department of Child Support Services, completed an interface with the District Attorney’s Office (which uses eProsecutor), and expanded both e-signature and encrypted email capabilities. Next up, Chatters says, are additional integrations with the county’s probation department and juvenile court partners.
As the court’s technology matures, Chatters believes it’s important to focus not just on implementing new features, but also on continual improvement (and awareness) of existing capabilities. As one of the earliest eCourt customers, Placer County Superior Court developed workflows and workarounds that made sense when the system was first deployed – but over time, eCourt has evolved substantially.
The challenge, Chatters notes, is finding the time to discover those improvements and determine how they can replace processes the court has learned to live with. “There are these things that frustrated us ten years ago, and we’ve sort of accepted them at this point,” he says. “It’s important to remember that we don’t really have to do that anymore.”
That’s where strong technology partnerships become especially valuable: not simply in providing software updates, but in helping courts understand how these enhancements can improve their day-to-day operations. Chatters says release notes and product roadmaps are quite useful, but he also believes there’s value in periodic reviews where eCourt experts can identify capabilities that courts aren’t taking advantage of.
Looking forward, Chatters sees tremendous opportunity for courts to leverage technology in new ways, but with a measured approach. While much of today’s conversation centers on generative artificial intelligence, he believes machine learning, data analytics, and intelligent automation may ultimately have the greatest impact on court operations. He also sees tremendous opportunity in helping courts respond effectively to legislative change, with race-blind charging in California being a relatively recent example.
For courts considering a new case management system, Chatters notes that technology itself is only part of the equation. “I think it has as much or more to do with the support model as it does the underlying software,” he says. “You want somebody who’s going to be a partner.”
Long-term partnerships aren't always smooth sailing, of course. Chatters admits there have been difficult conversations over the years, and there have been moments where differing priorities or a lack of communication have been frustrating for the court. However, he says he’s encouraged by the strides Journal Technologies have made in recent months, particularly around communication, support, and customer engagement.
For Placer County Superior Court, that’s what a successful technology partnership ultimately looks like. It’s not defined by a flawless implementation or the absence of challenges, but by a shared commitment to continuous improvement. After more than three decades working together and a decade on eCourt, Placer County is a testament to the value of moving forward, together.