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Ohio Supreme Court awards 2022 technology grants
RICHARD WEINER
Technology for Lawyers
Published: July 29, 2022
The Ohio Supreme Court has awarded a total of $3,073,726 in the court’s annual technology grants to 48 courts in 36 counties across the state for the 2022 fiscal year.
The awards continue a tradition of court technology grants begun by the court in 2015. A total of $35 million in these grants have been awarded to Ohio courts in that time.
Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor, who founded the grants, said “technology, with all its fast-developing capabilities, can never replace fair and impartial minds in the legal system. But it can provide the capacity to improve the operation of the courts, thereby improving service to the public.”
A spokesperson for the court said, “the Ohio courts’ increased use of technology ensures consistent and effective operation of the judicial system.
Courts across the state have used the funds for electronic dockets, text and email reminders of upcoming court dates, remote access courtroom technology, and more.”
The top amount awarded was $150,000 each to five courts to install or upgrade their court management systems (CMS).
Five other courts were awarded over $100,000 for the same reason.
One legal technology columnist, at least, feels that “it’s about time” and “jolly good show” for Ohio courts to start spending large for CMS. It is, after all, 2022 and not 1992. And the Supreme Court seems ready to help every court in the state get up to date on its CMS.
The smallest amount awarded this year was $4561 to the Franklin County Common Pleas Court.
Locally, Trumbull County Probate Court, Trumbull County Court, Central District, Portage County Common Pleas, General Division, and Campbell Municipal Court received grants.
No court in Summit County received a grant. It is not known if any Summit County court applied for a technology grant and was turned down.
Local grants:
Portage County: $73,137.73 to the Portage County Common Pleas Court, General Division, for security equipment at Adult Probation.
Judge Laurie Pittman wrote the grant, which will be administered by Chief of Probation Hank T. Gibson.
Gibson said that adult probation covers two floors of a very old building next to the courthouse in Ravenna and that the building presents a unique set of security concerns for his department.
Gibson said that the grant will go for a new set of cameras that will be placed throughout the second and third floors. The new camera setup will allow security to monitor those floors from a central location. He said he was “thrilled to receive the money to upgrade our building security.”
Mahoning County: $28,335.64 to the Campbell Municipal Court for new recording equipment.
“We had a terrible recording system,” said Clerk of Courts Sheri Levendis. “We record court proceedings and city government meetings, and nobody could hear what was on the recordings.”
So, Campbell will get a fully upgraded recording setup, which will include and eight-channel digital AV recorder and software and a professional digital PA system, among other improvements.
Mahoning County (and other counties in the district) for the Seventh District Court of Appeals: $7819.82 for remote communications for oral arguments. In a press release, the court’s presiding and administrative judge Gene Donofrio said,
“The 7th District Court of Appeals serves eight counties in the district. Some of those counties are located more than two hours away from the courthouse,” said Presiding and Administrative Judge Gene Donofrio. “This technology will ensure that we can continue to bridge that gap so that litigants can see and hear the proceeding clearly, whether near or far.”
Judge Donofrio, like Justice O’Connor, sees the application of technology in the court as an access to justice issue.
“The court has learned to adapt and improve on these new technologies in order to continue to provide access to justice in the most meaningful way,” said Judge Donofrio.
The court recently returned to in-person oral arguments but does stream those arguments on its website.
Trumbull County Court, Central Division: $24,383.21 for court building security equipment.
Linda Sypert, the court’s IT specialist, said that the grant will go toward X-Ray equipment and both hand-held and walk-through scanners. All of the new equipment replaced old, obsolete equipment, she said.
She also said that she applied for tasers through the grant, but that request was denied. She will, however, seek other funding for them.
Trumbull County Probate Court: $9024.00 for CMS updates.
Trumbull County Probate Judge James A. Fredericka said in a press release that the funds would be used to “acquire the software necessary to enable electronic payments and to initiate new case filings electronically. This will help to expedite the case initiation process and make payments to the court more accessible and convenient for everyone.”
These annual grants are available to any court of appeals, common pleas, municipal or county court. Applications open each spring and are reviewed on a competitive basis. Of course, if a court does not apply, it can’t get a grant.
A full list of the 2022 FY grant recipients can be found online at: https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/grants/.