Case Assignment
The Case Assignment Tracking System (CATS) allows court personnel to quickly and fortuitously assign judges and schedule court cases. A calendar is maintained for each judge to manage and organize court events. The availability of the judge, police officer, and attorneys are confirmed prior to scheduling a court date. A case consolidation feature combines an offender’s multiple cases for assignment to a single judge, reducing the number of required court appearances. As scheduling becomes more efficient, the number of criminal and civil cases pending beyond time guidelines is reduced.
CATS Success Story
The Case Assignment and Tracking System (CATS) has maximized the efficiency of the Toledo Municipal Court’s Assignment Office, according to Court Administrator Pamela Roberts. The primary responsibility of the Assignment Office is random judge assignment for criminal, traffic, and civil cases as well as scheduling pre·trials, trials, and other hearings.
Prior to CATS, the Assignment Office assumed the laborious task of performing such duties by hand, including manual entry into record books. Each judge retained an individual record book, directly creating a problem when multiple court officers had to assign the same judge to a case simultaneously. This resulted in waiting for access to particular judge registries, which delayed trials and ultimately affected efficient case disposal. For the Toledo Municipal Court, this entire process has been electronically streamlined for effectiveness and multiple users by utilizing the CATS application.
With approximately 30,000 cases flowing through the Toledo Municipal Court annually, installing an automated case management system was essential. Implementing the CATS application has resulted in significant increases in court data accuracy, staff time, and judge flexibility. Ultimately, the program’s benefits are best measured by user satisfaction, which was exemplified by Ms. Roberts saying, “We couldn’t have made the automated switch without CATS; it’s the perfect application for us.”