My vision of E-books:
An e-book could radically change my very small corner of the world; Criminal Law. As you will see, the process of getting a case into court is filled with redundant systems that an E-book could eliminate.
Current World:
When the police are called out on a case, they take witness statement, do investigation, etc. They write all of this down in a police report. That report is given a police number and then inputed into their computers.
A person then delivers three copies of that report to the District Attorney's office (where I work). A clerk then inputs the case with the defendant's name indicating that we received the case and assigns it to a deputy. That deputy decides whether to file the case. If filed, we then give in our own unique number, and another clerk then delivers it to the court clerks. We create a permanent file.
The court clerks then input it into their system and give it their own number and assign a court date. They create a permanent file.
The public defenders (or private attys) then receive the case. Of course, they have their own filing system. They repeat the entire process.
When the court date comes, more DA clerks, public defender clerks, and Court clerks have to pull the files and give them to the attorneys that then carry a full stack of files to the court. Everything that happens in court is then imputed into 3 different system.
Four different numbers. Four copies of the report. Numerous staff, with salaries, medical benefits, and pensions, all busy creating redundant files.
E-Book World:
What if . . . When the police arrive at the scene, they digitize the witness statements, pictures, and reports. It is given ONE number. It is e-mailed to our office.
I arrive and pick up my E-Book. Its been updated. I see that I have automatically been assigned the "intake". I review all the reports electronically, and, through my e-book, decide to file the case. I click the appropriate areas on the screen, and the case is electronically sent to the court. It keeps the SAME number. The calendaring program automatically sets a date. All parties are electronically delivered the copy of the report.
I then go to court with my e-book. All the files I need that day are available because they were updated automatically last night. Anything done in court is entered once, and all parties files are updated. Further, I could download any file within the system though wireless technology.
In this process, paper is eliminated, all staffing needs are eliminated. Each county could save millions over time by using an Ebook.
-wopr |
