California’s courts are rolling out new software called \u2018Odyssey\u2019 which deals with case file management \u2013 but it is jeopardising \u00a0people\u2019s jobs and freedom. \u2018Odyssey\u2019 was \u00a0created by Texas-based Tyler Technologies, costs about $5m and is set to gradually replace a decades old e-filing system. \u00a0Problems have seen people wrongfully arrested, held in prison longer than required and in several cases mistakenly told they must register as sex offenders.<\/p>\n
Tyler Technologies said in a statement that the upgrade process had been \u201cchallenging\u201d – but said poor training was to blame for bad inputting of data and integration with third party applications that often introduce glitches into the system.<\/p>\n
Almameda County\u2019s public defender, Brendon Woods, is now supporting many clients who have been affected by the issues. \u00a0He said a cumbersome user interface was causing the time taken to update a record to jump from around one minute to as much as 30 minutes per entry. As well as wrongful arrests and incorrectly extended custody, there have been several cases of misdemeanour offenses incorrectly appearing on the system as serious felony charges. Mr Woods has described the system as \u201cunfit for purpose\u201d.<\/p>\n
He sees the continued use of the software as a threat to the constitutional rights of many people living in the county, \u201cIt\u2019s something that shouldn\u2019t happen.\u00a0 When you could be out in the community, working, providing for your family, seeing your kids\u2026 and then one minute you are in jail – due to no fault of your own? \u00a0That is absolutely terrible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Woods has filed a motion to compel the court to either keep accurate same-day records or completely abandon the new system. The initial judge in the case chose not to hear the motion, instead referring it to a more senior judge to be heard in mid-January. \u00a0Mr Wood\u2019s argued that is too long to wait so he has appealed against that decision to Alameda County\u2019s Superior Court.<\/p>\n
Mr Woods said, \u00a0\u201cWe\u2019ve had clients who were supposed to register as drug offenders, the system shows them as registering as sex offenders.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tyler Technologies defends its software and shifts blame back to Alameda County\u2019s staff. \u00a0It said many factors could impact the software\u2019s usefulness, among them training of those who use the technology.<\/p>\n
Spokesman Tony Katsulos said, \u201cWe are confident that we have the experience to help our client navigate those inevitable headwinds, just as we have done many times before with other complex implementations.\u00a0 However, this must be a co-operative process. A project\u2019s success is contingent on both parties\u200a – \u200athe jurisdiction and the software provider -\u200aworking co-operatively together. We have reiterated our commitment to this approach to Alameda and continue to make ourselves available to them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Similar problems have been reported in Tennessee and Indiana where inmates were being mistakenly released early.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"