New computers in use Monday

More up-to-date court records will be available online starting Wednesday.
By ED RUNYAN
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- The Trumbull County Courthouse and Family Court are undergoing a computer makeover that is set to go into use Monday morning.
The $1.4 million project to replace a computer system installed in 1995 has been in the planning stages since 1999. More improvements will be added to the system in the months to come, said Linda Cypert, the county's director of information services.
Among the most important improvements coming later, she said, is imaging, through which workers scan documents so that Web site users can view them, such as lawsuits and motions. Currently those documents are only available on paper at the courthouse.
Cypert said starting Wednesday, the clerk of courts Web site will use the new software, which is a Microsoft Windows-based application called Courtview 2000 that shows court records in "real-time," meaning the records are available as soon as workers key them in.
Cypert said some judges want to enter their own information -- such as sentencings -- from the bench, meaning the data will go into the system as court action is happening.
Another change
With the current system, court records are updated about once per week, Cypert said. For a couple of years before that, the records were updated once per month.
Among the costs associated with the upgrade were printers, flat-screen monitors, software, training and 200 computers.
Among the features most anticipated by court personnel and attorneys, Cypert said, is one that will show an attorney's court schedule so that scheduling conflicts in any of the courts across the county can be identified easily. That feature and electronic filing of court documents are still months away.
Cypert said Trumbull County is among the last counties in the state to advance to the more modern software. The old computer system needed to be replaced soon, Cypert said, because the manufacturer is discontinuing it this fall and will no longer service the system as of 2010.