William C. Flook, The Examiner
2007-05-07 07:00:00.0
Current rank: Not ranked

Fairfax -

The commonwealth’s largest circuit court plans to overhaul how it manages the massive load of cases and documents it processes each year.

The move, part of a larger push to streamline technology and record keeping at Fairfax County’s courthouse, comes on the heels of an audit that found numerous problems in how the circuit court manages criminal information.

Auditors found the court was, in more than half of the 40 cases tested, months late in notifying the Department of Motor Vehicles of unpaid criminal and traffic fines. Issued earlier this month, the report also said there were delays in recording and reporting delinquent fees and costs to the Department of Taxation.

Circuit Court Clerk John Frey said he expects the new system to rectify those problems. The county is now seeking bids to completely replace the court’s existing software — a job that could take a year to compete, Frey said. Firms have not yet bid on the project, he said, so the total cost is unknown.

Frey manages a staff of 184 that handles tens of thousands of records each year, from criminal cases to concealed handgun permits to land deeds.

“It’s a phenomenal amount of papers and records we’re responsible for,” he told The Examiner on Wednesday.

The entire courthouse has integrated other new technologies in recent years. Monitors installed throughout one courtroom have enabled attorneys to more easily present information to jurors during trials. Some paper dockets that would normally be tacked to the walls are now displayed on broad, brightly colored electronic displays.

Land records have also been brought online, which allowed title searchers to conduct research from their homes and offices instead of crowding the halls of the courthouse during the recent building boom.

The General District Court, Frey said, is now able to do video arraignments without bringing the accused before the court. The same technology has allowed a victim of child abuse to testify from a remote location, instead of in the same room as the accused.

wflook@dcexaminer.com