Online Case Resolution (OCR) of Traffic and Misdemeanor Cases: Municipal and Traffic Court of New Orleans

JMI has been working with the Municipal and Traffic Court of New Orleans (MTCNO) since 2015 on multiple projects: the merger of the municipal and traffic courts, case and docket management, enhancements to the case management system, online case resolution (OCR), and a New Orleans Community Court. OCR emerged out of the pandemic as a need to leverage technology to provide increased access to justice for traffic and misdemeanor cases.

The JMI team, working with an MTCNO committee, provided the following research, procedural, and technical documentation:

• Legal research on enabling legislation for digital case records, documents, and transactions; with policy statements supporting OCR implementation.
• Policies that guide the design and implementation process, including a prohibition on supplemental defendant fees, the preservation of in-person processes, and a commitment to open source, public sector licensing.
• Procedures that define the roles of the court, defendant, defense attorney, and prosecutor, including both obligations and restrictions.
• Functional and technical requirements and specifications.
• Cost estimates for design and build of the OCR system.

JMI is providing technical assistance to the MTCNO to design and implement OCR in order to be a demonstration site for Louisiana. The MTCNO and JMI engaged the Supreme Court of Louisiana and other city and municipal courts in a process that includes the formation of a statewide OCR working group that is monitoring OCR implementation in New Orleans. The system is designed to enable enterprise expansion to over 300 city and municipal courts around the state.

For more information about online case resolution for your jurisdiction, contact Tim Dibble at timd@jmijustice.org.