A Plan for Access in Arkansas

An interview with Marty Sullivan, Director of the Arkansas Administrative Office of the Courts, and Tim Holthoff, Director of the Arkansas Court Information Systems Division

Arkansas has long been a national leader in providing public access to court information.

Now, the Arkansas Administrative Office of the Courts is making good use of American Rescue Plan funds to create a better, more user-friendly case management system that will allow for easier public access to court records.

Time for a Change

Several years ago, Marty Sullivan, Director of the office, and Tim Holthoff, Director of the Court Information Systems Division, realized it was time to move away from an outdated case management system. They wanted to embrace new technology to better support constituent access.

When Sullivan decided to transform the records system, he saw it as a wise long-term investment and an opportunity “to think about the future, and not focus on how we’ve always done things, but think about how we could evolve and do things better moving forward,” he said.

Evolving With a Team

Because an off-the-shelf system would cost about $70 million, they decided to build a custom, cloud-based system, pulling together elements from multiple vendors.

“Building our own case management system will provide more transparency, more accountability, and more access and a cheaper cost,” said Holthoff, who has worked in court IT for 30 years.

“No one knows the court user in Arkansas better than we do,” added Sullivan. “We know what our court community needs, and we have the capability to build a system that will be far better than anything we could buy.”

Throughout the planning period, Sullivan set up challenges to encourage employees to stretch and grow their case management mindset. He also sought to create an organization that was more team-based than hierarchical to allow experienced staff to develop solutions and lead.

Innovative Impact

The plan is to roll out the case management system for district courts in 2024.

One of the first key deliverables will launch by the end of this year — a new public interface that holds the legacy data. That will replace the current interface, which they describe as “clunky,” with one that is much more user-friendly and allows all Arkansans to easily access circuit court records for free.

But that’s not the end of their innovations, which could improve operations for constituents and the courts alike.

In Arkansas district courts, the “failure to appear” rate can be high — more than 45,000 people no-showed in 2022. That wastes time and effort and can lead to arrest warrants. Sullivan said he realizes that many litigants don’t miss their dates intentionally but are juggling the demands of their busy lives.

In the future, he would like the court to send automatic reminders by text, communicating with constituents as a medical provider might. Adding this touchpoint would mean fewer missed appearances, more resolved disputes and cost savings for the court.

More virtual points of contact help everyone, but especially people with physical, intellectual or psychological challenges, or those experiencing a challenging time.

“If everyone can come to this virtual courthouse without regard to what impediments they may have, then we’ll build trust, we’ll build confidence, and the justice system will be here for them,” Holthoff said.

This article appeared in our guide, “State and Local: Making an Impact.” For more insights into state and local innovations that are changing communities, download it here:

Image by 3D Animation Production Company from Pixabay