Houston County District Attorney

A benefit of going "paperless" is that we are now able to provide all of my office’s discovery via online access instead of the traditional "file" copy that has been used for the past thousand years. You may think this isn’t a big deal, but for government to do anything "cutting edge" is a bit unusual. While we have all adjusted to getting our banking information online, buying our airline tickets online, getting much of our news online and so on, we believe that we are the first prosecution office in the country to provide all discovery material online. But we aren't interested in doing it because it is "cool" but because it is a more efficient and  faster way of meeting our responsibilities in providing discovery in criminal matters.

Jeff Prater, our IT Director, has created and rolled out a program we call LawDog, our case management system that was developed by Jeff during his two years in our office. LawDog was originally designed to replace an unsupported, out-of-date, client based program. Jeff's instructions were to create a updated, standards-based web-based system that that was easy to use yet powerful. All it had to do was to manage our data, create documents, store evidence, handle our calendar and ease communication with everyone that we deal with. That's all it had to do! And Jeff has done it and much more.

Benefits of LawDog:

1. Faster: We post the material online within minutes of receiving it and it is available to the defense attorney immediately.
2. Cost Savings: By not having to copy, store and retrieve case files, we have a tremendous cost savings over traditional physical file storage.
3. Security: The online access to the data is secure for both the State and the defense attorney.
4. Backup: A paper file, once missing, has to be replicated. Our online system is backed up to an offsite storage facility daily. Should a tornado wipe out the courthouse, our office could literally access the State's files within minutes.
5. Reliable: There is no discrepancy as to what evidence the State provided to the defense, or when it was provided. All files are time and date stamped automatically when posted to the database, meaning that there is no dispute as to when the State made the information available. Should a document be contested, the State's file will show exactly what was provided to the defense.
6. Standardized: All documents are stored as an Adobe PDF document which is viewable in every major browser on the market. All videos are stored in both an AVI and a FLV format. The FLV format is standardized across all major browser platforms. 911 calls are in in mp3 format, and like videos, can be reviewed online or downloaded.
7. Transportable: Whereas the traditional file was only viewable if one had the paper file, electronic files are viewable on any computer. A defense attorney can carry their computer to meet their client and show them what the file contains. The State can also access the file from any location to provide police or victim assistance or answer media inquiries.
8. Downloadable: All material posted can be downloaded onto the accessing computer.
9. Long Term File Storage: Whereas a traditional paper file degrades over time and requires an environmentally controlled storage facility, with a person to constantly retrieve and replace the physical file, our online system requires neither. We simply backup the online system onto secure alternate servers in order to provide long term access to these files.
10. Long Term Retrieval: The State is constantly accessing old files but by scanning our old files and making them accessible electronically, we can eliminate the time consuming process of file retrieval.

These benefits far exceed the initial cost incurred in setting up the system. To date, we have expended less than $20,000 creating the system, buying the hardware and scanning the documents. We believe the long term benefits will exceed the costs by a factor of more than 10 to 1.

Defense Attorney Access:

1. Easy Accessibility: Can access the system from any computer with an Internet connection.
2. Ease of Entry: A defense attorney can view any unassigned case and become the "attorney of record" by simply entering an appearance electronically.
3. Motion Filing: A defense attorney can file "standard motions" electronically.
4. Instant Document Notification: Every defense attorney has their own "home page" that shows a notification box showing all "new documents" that have been posted to a case file since the last time the attorney logged onto the system.
5. Total Caseload Viewing: Every defense attorney will have a listing of all their cases, with each case showing all evidence filed.
6. Searchable: A defense attorney can search all cases, including closed cases, for basic information about the case, such as the charges and who the defense attorney is for that case. An attorney can only see evidence in their cases, however.

We believe these benefits make LawDog an incredible tool to the prosecution of crime in Houston County. We hope you will contact us if you have any questions about LawDog or any aspect of our office.

Kelly R. Burke
District Attorney