Plan to move 18th Judicial District to new case management system pushed to 2023

TOPEKA—The Office of Judicial Administration announced today it will reschedule to 2023 its plan to bring the 18th Judicial District onto the Kansas eCourt case management system.

New date not set

The 18th Judicial District is composed of Sedgwick County. It is identified as Track 9 on the Kansas eCourt Statewide Rollout Plan. It had been scheduled to make the transition to the new case management system October 31.

The Office of Judicial Administration has not picked a new date, but it will be in 2023.

Courts transitioning in 2022

The schedule change follows courts in 40 counties joining the new case management system in July. Courts in 34 counties are scheduled to make the transition September 12.

After September 12, 95% of all state trial courts will be operating on the new system.

Impact on support teams

Kelly O’Brien, chief information officer in the Office of Judicial Administration, is project director. He said adding so many courts at the same time makes sense from a project management perspective. However, it taxes support teams across the state who help courts adjust to processing cases using the new system.

“Our courts and our staff are committed to the success of this system rollout, and they have given their all even while enduring the strain of a pandemic,” O’Brien said. “A short delay is reasonable in the interest of well-being for the people who support this modernization effort.”

System is key to eCourt plan

The centralized case management system is a key component of the Supreme Court’s eCourt plan. Its implementation in courts statewide will allow district and appellate case data to reside on a single web-based platform, transforming the way the state court system serves the people of Kansas.