Dallas, TX (September 18, 2007) – In an effort to enhance information sharing among parish criminal justice practitioners, the New Orleans Police and Justice Foundation (NOPJF) has signed a major contract with Orion Communications, Inc. for its CourtNotify Subpoena Management Solution. The CourtNotify solution will enable information sharing among Police, Sheriff, Courts, and City agencies -- resulting in improved efficiencies across all departments.
“Technical and resource deficiencies combined with the crippling blow of Hurricane Katrina made the time ripe for a consortium that supports the spirit of cooperation and accountability.” reports the NOPJF.
After one year of strategy assessment and interviewing key parish personnel, Orion’s AgencyWeb® CourtNotify Subpoena Management System was chosen as the solution to unify current parish bond, subpoena and court processes.
According to Dr. Heidi Unter with the NOPJF, “Katrina has shown how timely, accurate and shared information is critical to the operations of every criminal justice agency in New Orleans. Post-Katrina manpower shortages have now made labor-saving efficiencies like CourtNotify, even more important.”
With CourtNotify, law enforcement and judicial agencies throughout Orleans Parish will have the ability to electronically distribute and track interagency subpoenas and notices for criminal and municipal court cases. Agencies will use online tools, such as email and web screens, to automate notifications and receive documented response acknowledgements.
Automated escalated alerts will ensure that required agency witnesses attend scheduled cases and that court clerks are informed about emergency situations. Citizen subpoena servicing will become automated, allowing Sheriff personnel to automate delivery results.
A special focus on address validation and management is included, which will fill a critical gap plaguing the Parish due to post-Katrina housing issues. Orion’s address tracking tool will provide the Sheriff with new tools to manage the process of serving key witnesses and defendants.
The CourtNotify deployment began in August, 2007 and is planned to go live in early 2008.
