Florida Courts Technology Commissionorigin.flcourts.org/core/fileparse.php/537/urlt/FCTC-Overview-July... · • Full Certification is when a vendor has fully complied with all of

Florida Courts TechnologyCommission Overview

July 2018Prepared by OSCA-OIT Governance Staff

Florida Courts Technology Commission (FCTC)

• The FCTC was established in Rule 2.236 as a standing Supreme Court

commission in 2010. The purpose of the FCTC is to oversee, manage,

and direct the development and use of technology within the judicial

branch under the direction of the Florida Supreme Court.

• The FCTC membership consists of 25 members and include the

following: (2) district court judges; (5) circuit court judges, including

one chief judge; (2) county court judges; (3) court administrators; (3)

court technology officers; (4) clerks of court, including one appellate

court clerk; (4) Florida Bar members, including one Board of Governors

member; and (2) members of the public at large.

FCTC Members

Laird Lile

Sandra Lonergan

Elisa Miller

Judge Stevan Northcutt

Judge Terence Perkins

Leslie Powell-Boureaux

Clerk Karen Rushing

Murray Silverstein

Mike Smith

Judge Scott Stephens

John Stewart

Clerk Lonn Weissblum

Matt Benefiel

Judge Martin Bidwill

Judge Ross Bilbrey

Christina Blakeslee

Noel Chessman

Clerk Scott Ellis

Clerk David Ellspermann

Judge Ronald Ficarrotta

Judge Josephine Gagliardi

Judge Robert Hilliard

Tanya Jackson

Jon Lin

Judge Lisa Taylor Munyon (Chair)

FCTC Committee Structure

Florida Courts Technology Commission

Judge Lisa Munyon - Chair

Appellate Courts Technology

Commission

Judge Stevan Northcutt

Access Governance Board


Technical Standards

Subcommittee

Chris Blakeslee and Mike Smith

Standards Consolidation

Workgroup


Certification

Subcommittee


Portal Subcommittee


Criminal Case Initiation

Workgroup


Abandoned Filings

Workgroup


Operational Procedure

Review Workgroup


RJA Joint Workgroup

Judge Scott Stephens and

Murray Silverstein

Paper Elimination

Workgroup

TBD

Active FCTC Subcommittee/Workgroups – April 2018


Judge Robert Hilliard (Chair)

Robert Adelardi

Matt Benefiel

Chris Blakeslee

Clerk Sharon Bock

Clerk Angel Colonneso

Melvin Cox


Craig McLean

Mike Smith

Jeff Taylor

Technical Standards Subcommittee

Mike Smith (Chair)

Christina Blakeslee (CO-Chair)

Robert Adelardi

Matt Benefiel

Noel Chessman

Melvin Cox


Brent Holladay

Tanya Jackson

Doris Maitland

Dennis Menendez

Sunny Nemade


Steve Shaw

OIT Staff: Lakisha Hall

FCTCSubcommittee/WorkgroupMembers

Standards Consolidation Workgroup

Judge Martin Bidwill (Chair)

Chris Blakeslee

Noel Chessman

Melvin Cox


Brent Holladay

Justin Horan

Craig McLean

Dennis Menendez

Steve Shaw

Murray Silverstein

Mike Smith

Certification Subcommittee

Judge Terence Perkins (Chair)

Robert Adelardi


Christina Blakeslee

Noel Chessman

Jon Lin

Dennis Menendez

Craig McLean

Mike Smith

FCTC/RJA Joint Workgroup

Murray Silverstein (Chair)

Judge Scott Stephens (Co-Chair)

Paul Regensdorf


Tom Hall

Ken Nelson

Noel Chessman

Justin Horan

Amy Borman

Clerk John Tomasino

Portal Subcommittee


Christina Blakeslee

Fernando Cabrera

Melvin Cox

Richard De Maria


Jim Kowalski

Laird Lile

Craig McLean

Dennis Menendez

Elisa Miller

Thomas Morris

Sunny Nemade

Dr. Carole Pettijohn Murray

Silverstein

John Stewart

Carolyn Weber

Clerk Lonn Weissblum

Technical (CCIW) Subgroup

Judge Martin Bidwill(Chair)

Christina Blakeslee

Melvin Cox

Justin Horan

Tony Landry

Tom Morris

Shannon Peters

Laurie Rice

Carolyn Weber

Michelle Yodonis

FDLE Representative

Lt. Karen Archibald

Lt. Roger Brennan

Kathy LaCorte

OIT Staff: Jeannine Moore

FCTCSubcommittee/WorkgroupMembers

Criminal Case Initiation Workgroup


Doug Bakke

Christina Blakeslee

Clerk Angel Colonneso

Melvin Cox

Richard DeMaria

Clerk Tara Green

Tony Landry

Tom Morris

Carolyn Weber

Jamie Benjamin

April Cross

Matt Dunagan

Julie Holt

Amy Mercer

Shannon Peters

Doug Smith

Jackie Suttle

Samantha Ward

Operational Procedure Review Workgroup

Judge Josephine Gagliardi (Chair)

Amy Borman

Tom Hall

Tonya Jackson

Elisa Miller

Harold Sample

Murray Silverstein

Jean Sperbeck

Judge Scott Stephens

John Stewart

Tyler Winik

FDC Joint Workgroup


Christina Blakeslee

Melvin Cox

Richard DeMaria

Tom Hall

Tom Morris

John Tomasino

Carolyn Weber

Lonn Weissblum

2 DOC Representatives

Data Element (CCIW) Subgroup


Christina Blakeslee

Melvin Cox

Tony Landry

Laurie Rice

Carolyn Weber

Michelle Yondonis

FDLE Representative

The Portal Subcommittee was established to work with the Florida Court

Clerks & Comptrollers on development of and modifications to the Portal

and serve as a liaison group between the FCTC and the E-Filing Authority

Board.

In 2010, the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal was developed and began

accepting electronic filings on January 1, 2011. The Portal was

designed to be a delivery method to local case management systems.

Members: Judge Martin Bidwill (Chair); Judge Josephine Gagliardi; Christina

Blakeslee; Fernando Cabrera; Melvin Cox; Richard De Maria; Jim

Kowalski; Laird Lile; Craig McLean; Dennis Menendez; Elisa Miller;

Thomas Morris; Lonn Weissblum; Sunny Nemade; Dr. Carole Pettijohn;

Murray Silverstein; and John Stewart

Portal Subcommittee

Portal Subcommittee Overview

• Established various non-attorney filer roles to the Portal and a

uniform way to e-serve judges.

• Established a uniform method of filing proposed orders electronically

through the Portal.

• Endorsed allowing judges, general magistrates, hearing officers, and

pro-se litigants the ability to electronically file through the Portal.

• Established a secure line for DOC to submit VOP/Post Conviction

items to the Court.

• Reviewing Portal functionality for uniform progression.

The Abandoned Filings Workgroup was established to analyze the

judicial review process of the Florida Supreme Court Standards for

Electronic Access to the Courts, 3.1.13. Local Document Receiving, to

determine if policy revisions are necessitated.

Members: Judge Josephine Gagliardi (Chair); Doug Bakke; Kevin Karnes; Laird

Lile; Doris Maitland; Craig McLean; Elisa Miller; Richard De Maria;

Jean Sperbeck; Lonn Weissblum; Laurie Reaves; Laurie Rice; Kim

Stenger; Carolyn Weber; and Tyler Winik

Abandoned Filings Workgroup

• Renamed the judicial review queue in the Portal to “abandoned

filings” queue.

• Recommended electronic notification be effectuated upon all original

e-service recipients when a submission is returned to the correction

queue, resubmitted or placed in the abandoned filings queue.

• Developed a standard list of rejected reasons for filings to be placed

in the correction queue.

• Awaiting final rule on retention schedules for abandoned/rejectable

documents.

Abandoned Filings Workgroup Overview

The Criminal Case Initiation Workgroup was established to research a

standardized electronic process for criminal case initiated filings through the

Portal.

Members: Judge Martin Bidwill (Chair); Melvin Cox; Christina Blakeslee; Tom

Morris; Richard De Maria; Angel Colonneso; Tara Green; Doug

Bakke, Carolyn Weber, Tony Landry; Matt Dunagan, April Cross

(FDLE), Doug Smith (Atty Gen), Jamie Benjamin (FACDL),

Shannon Peters (FPAA), Amy Mercer (FPCA), Julie Holt

(FLPDA), Judge Samantha Ward (FL Bar Criminal Rules), and

Jackie Suttle (DJJ)

Criminal Case Initiation Workgroup

• Researching a path for uniformity regarding electronic criminal case

initiation.

• Evaluating clerk and local law enforcement agencies interest in

implementing criminal case initiation through the Portal.

• Evaluating the utility of a more comprehensive process for criminal

case initiation.

• Established the Technical Subgroup to standardize data language,

statutory tables, and workflows.

• Established the Data Element Subgroup to standardize criminal data

elements.

Criminal Case Initiation Workgroup Overview

The Conversion of Filings to PDF/A Workgroup was established to

analyze document storage concerns and recommend a resolution.

Members: Judge Martin Bidwill (Chair); Melvin Cox; Fernando Cabrera; Tom

Genung; Brent Holladay; Jim Kowalski; Carole Pettijohn; and

Murray Silverstein

Conversion of Filings to PDF/A Workgroup

• Based on the conclusions reached by the workgroup, the workgroup

recommended the Portal begin the process of converting documents

to PDF/A, understanding that the Portal will still continue to provide

the documents to each individual clerk in the format that the clerk

can process. In support of this process, the Portal will educate the

filers as to the requirement of filing documents in PDF/A.

Conversion of Filings to PDF/A Workgroup Overview

The Operational Procedure Review Workgroup was established to

review and update the FCTC’s Operational Procedures for assurance

that proper modern processes are being governed.

Members: Judge Josephine Gagliardi (Chair); Judge Scott Stephens; Elisa

Miller; Tonya Jackson; John Stewart; Murray Silverstein; Amy

Borman; Tom Hall; Tyler Winik; Tom Genung; Jean Sperbeck and

Harold Sample

Operational Procedure Review Workgroup

• Reviewing the FCTC Operational Procedures in it’s entirety to

update and modernize outdated provisions.

• Researching a more formal institutionalized process for the

appropriate vetting of action items.

• Exploring forms and procedures for submitting requests to appear

before the Commission.

• Developing procedure for updating standards at regular intervals

to limit the number of times per year the Court needs to address

FCTC issues.

Operational Procedure Review Workgroup Overview

The DOC Joint Workgroup was established to research the use of the

Portal to facilitate communication between the courts and the Department

of Corrections.

Members: Judge Martin Bidwill (Chair); Christina Blakeslee; Melvin Cox; Tom Hall;

Richard De Maria; Thomas Morris; Carolyn Weber; John Tomasino,

Lonn Weissblum; and 2 DOC Representatives

DOC Joint Workgroup

• Established a proposed warrant process for electronically filing VOP

warrants to the Court.

• As technology advances, continue researching electronic filing through the

Portal for DOC staff and inmates; other participating states that allow

electronic filing by inmates; electronic storage of case documents by

inmates.

DOC Joint Workgroup Overview

The Certification subcommittee was established to view demonstrations of

court application processing system (CAPS) viewers and certify vendors

in compliance with CAPS standards. Any system implemented must

adhere to the standards and vendors must be certified to sell their product

to any county in Florida.

Members: Judge Terence Perkins (Chair); Robert Adelardi; Judge Martin Bidwill;

Christina Blakeslee; Noel Chessman; Jon Lin; Craig McLean; Dennis

Menendez; and Mike Smith

Certification Subcommittee

• Full Certification is when a vendor has fully complied with all of the

CAPS standards and the current version of the Florida Supreme Court

Standards for Electronic Access to the Courts.

Mentis Technologies, Pioneer Technology Group, the Eighth,

Thirteenth, Fifteenth, and Seventeenth Judicial Circuits are

fully certified.

• Provisional Certification is when a vendor ’s system meets only a part

of the CAPS standards and the current version of the Florida Supreme

Court Standards for Electronic Access to the Courts. Provisional

certification is for six months and may be renewed at the discretion of

the FCTC.

Types of Certification

The Technical Standards subcommittee was established to update

technical standard documents related to court technology.

Members: Christina Blakeslee (Chair); Mike Smith (Co-Chair); Robert Adelardi;

Matt Benefiel; Noel Chessman; Melvin Cox; Judge Robert Hilliard; Brent

Holladay; Tanya Jackson; Doris Maitland; Dennis Menendez; Sunny

Nemade; Judge Terence Perkins; and Steve Shaw

Technical Standards Subcommittee

• Developed standards for Backup of Electronic Court Records.

• Developing standards for PDF/A storage.

• Developing an implementation plan for clerks of court to store

documents in PDF/A format.

Technical Standards Subcommittee Overview

The Access Governance Board was established to develop an access

security matrix; develop a reference guide for high level overview of the

access and associated policies; and develop a web catalog of the security

matrix for application developers. The purpose was to facilitate a uniform

statewide approach to providing carefully managed, secure access to

electronic court records.

Members: Judge Robert Hilliard (Chair); Robert Adelardi; Sharon Bock; Matt Benefiel;

Christina Blakeslee; Angel Colonneso; Melvin Cox; David Ellspermann;

Craig McLean; Mike Smith and Jeff Taylor


• Created a Request form to Change the Standards for Access to

Electronic Court Records or the Access Security Matrix.

• Created a standardized Agency Agreement, Registered User

Agreement, and Gatekeeper Request Form to create uniformity

statewide.

• Updated the Standards for Access to Electronic Court Records which

establishes technical and operational requirements for electronic access

to court records by the public, special user groups, judges, and court

and clerk’s office personnel.

• Approved certification requests from eleven Clerks of Court to move

their online electronic records access system out of the pilot phase into

production.

Access Governance Board Overview

• Updated the Access Security Matrix which defines levels of access for

specific user groups based upon applicable court rules, statutes, and

administrative policies, and graphically displays the level of access

permitted to specific user groups.

• Overseeing the Clerks of Court online electronic records access pilot

programs.

• Reviewing monthly status reports received from the Clerks of Court to ensure

online electronic records access is working in a secure manner in accordance

with the Standards for Access to Electronic Court Records and the Access

Security Matrix.

Access Governance Board Overview (continued)

The Document Storage Workgroup was established to do strategic

planning to determine long-term goals and standards for storing

electronic documents.

Members: Steve Shaw (Chair); Robert Adelardi; Judge Martin Bidwill; Christina

Blakeslee; Sharon Bock; Noel Chessman; Melvin Cox; Brent Holladay; Tim

Jamison; Tony Landry; Terry Rodgers; Murray Silverstein; Mike Smith; John

Stewart; Jeff Taylor; and Dave Winiecki

Document Storage Workgroup

• Identified PDF/A as the document storage method.

• Distributed a survey to the Clerks of Court to determine potential

implementation timeframes and costs associated with storing and

using PDF’s.

• Developed Standards for Electronic Court Documents.

• Developed an issues list which assigns the tasks of resolving PDF/A

storage related issues to various governance groups to develop

standards, rules, and guidelines.

Document Storage Workgroup Overview

The Standards Consolidation Workgroup was established to review and update all of the technical and functional standards and combine them into one technical document.

Members: Judge Martin Bidwill (Chair); Christina Blakeslee; Noel Chessman; Melvin Cox;

Judge Robert Hilliard; Brent Holladay; Justin Horan; Craig McLean; Dennis

Menendez; Steve Shaw; Murray Silverstein; and Mike Smith

Standards Consolidation Workgroup

• Updated and combined the technical and functional standards into

one standard document.

Standards for Electronic Access to the Courts – the Supreme Court set

statewide standards for e-filing for clerks to use when implementing e-filing due

to the Legislature’s request. These standards specify the required information

the clerks need to perform their duties and that the judiciary needs for case

management as stated in AOSC09-30.

Standards for Access to Electronic Court Records – describes the types of

electronic access, user groups, access levels, security requirements for the

general public and special user groups, as well as requirements for maintaining

the integrity of the court record, redaction, quality assurance, archiving,

authentication, and user maintenance.

Access Security Matrix – defines the level of access for specific user groups

based upon applicable court rules, statutes and administrative policies, and

graphically displays the level of access permitted to specific user groups.

Standards Consolidation Workgroup Overview

Functional Requirements for Court Application Processing System – a computer

application designed for in-court and in-chambers use by trial judges or their staff to

access and use electronic case files and other data sources in the course of

managing cases, scheduling and conducting hearings, adjudicating disputed issues,

and recording and reporting judicial activity.

Integration and Interoperability Standards – identifies hardware and software

platforms, network infrastructure, and methods for data exchange. This document is

mainly used by the court technology officers.

Data Exchange Standards – provides the framework for data exchanges that piece

together the data requirements from many different sources into a data model that is

mapped to the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM) compliant model;

meets the needs of CCIS 3.0; and provides all of the necessary clerk maintained

data.

Notification of System Modification – form to be aware of major modifications to

current systems or the implementation of new systems that affect the judiciary.

Standards Consolidation Workgroup Overview (continued)

The FCTC/RJA Joint Workgroup was established to review technology

standards and rule sets to identify technology standards that apply to the

practice of law and overlap with rules of court.

Members: Murray Silverstein (Chair); Judge Scott Stephens (Co-Chair); Amy Borman;

Noel Chessman; David Ellspermann; Tom Hall; Justin Horan; Paul

Regensdorf; and John Tomasino

FCTC/RJA Joint Workgroup

• Identified overlapping subjects/provisions in the technology

standards and rule sets.

• Developed an Original Documents Report to answer the question

of whether clerks’ offices are required to retain paper documents

as part of the court file after they have been digitally imaged for

permanent retention.

Removed outdated standard 3.5.3 Original Documents or

Handwritten Signatures in the Standards for Electronic Access to

the Courts, as rule 2.525 Filing, defines the official court file as a

set of electronic documents docketed and stored in a computer

system maintained by the clerk.

FCTC/RJA Joint Workgroup Overview

• Assisted members of the Rules of Judicial Administration

Subcommittee B on updating rules 2.345 Electronic Signature of

Court Official; 2.511 Florida Courts E-Filing Portal; 2.514

Computing and Extending Time/ 2.516 Service; 2.520 Documents;

and 2.520 Filing.

• Working on making a recommendation to the Florida Rules of

Judicial Administration Committee to consider amending rule 2.430

Retention of Court Records.

FCTC/RJA Joint Workgroup Overview (continued)

• Rule 2.236 – Florida Courts Technology Commission (FCTC)

• Rule 2.420 – Public Access to Judicial Branch Records

• Rule 2.425 – Minimization of the Filing of Sensitive Information

• Rule 2.515 – Signature and Certificates of Attorneys and Parties

• Rule 2.516 – Service of Pleadings and Documents

• Rule 2.520 – Documents

• Rule 2.525 – Electronic Filing

• Rule 3.030 – Service and Filing of Pleadings, Papers, and Documents

Applicable Rules