Print Version - Arizona Judicial Department

SNAPSHOT
CLASS STATUS RISK
Utility New High
Enhancement On-going Medium
Frontier Replace/Upgrade Low
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
In FY 2006, AZTEC began to be opened to allow an XML data stream from e-citation
devices, photo radar, and red light systems to automatically initiate cases. This paved
the way for full electronic case filing while awaiting implementation of next-generation
case management systems. This project benefits the court community by building the
foundation for automated case initiation for bookings, citations, and filings into the
AZTEC database, thereby decreasing the amount of data entry the court clerk would
need to do for case initiation and simultaneously improving the accuracy of case data.
The initial integration project involved the courts (via AZTEC) and Flagstaff/Coconino
City/County Law Enforcement as well as prosecutors (via their records management
systems). The project includes creation of data transfer interfaces and standardization
of transaction structures. The transactions include data for three different types of case
initiation: Citation, Booking, and Long Form Complaint data. A web interface allows the
court clerk to review the data and supplement it (if needed) then to post the data into the
AZTEC CMS.
Another facet of the project includes providing electronic ATTC input to AZTEC from law
enforcement officers’ handheld devices. There are now 28 courts that have partnered
with their local law enforcement agencies to provide officers with handheld devices
containing the electronic ATTC form. The data is transmitted to the court network via
the DPS network for upload to AZTEC.
As part of the preparation for the initial DPS TraCS implementation, AOC Legal
provided a verbal opinion that courts must be in direct possession of electronic citations,
not relying on vendors or law enforcement agencies to provide judges with e-citations
on demand. Ramifications of this opinion could be large, so discussions continue
regarding the true business needs of courts in relation to electronic citations, especially
whether a stream of data constitutes a “filing” under the rules and what court processes
require a defendant’s signature. It is possible that AOC will have to construct a massive
central repository to store certain citations from DPS and vendors.
Further complicating matters, DPS’ agreement with TraCS licenses the software for the
state as a whole. As DPS makes TraCS increasingly available to local law
enforcement, judges must look multiple places to locate a ticket, depending on what law
enforcement agency filed it. The alternative requires AOC to gather citations from all
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