TOPEKA — After a five-year technological transition, the addition of Johnson County District Court to the Kansas judiciary’s case management system on Nov. 5 marked the completion of a statewide modernization effort. All other state trial courts had already been moved to the Kansas eCourt system between 2019 and 2023, with the project gaining urgency during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, progress was stalled after a cyber attack in October 2023 forced the state courts to operate using paper filings.
The attack, which shut down Kansas’ electronic filing network for months, was attributed to affiliates of a Russian-based ransomware organization. Chief Justice of the Kansas Supreme Court, Marla Luckert, acknowledged the challenges faced in achieving this milestone, but expressed confidence in the court’s improved resilience against future threats.
Millions of dollars were invested in fortifying the judicial system’s technology infrastructure to protect against criminal attacks and ensure operational continuity during crises. The adoption of a court case management system that consolidated data on a single web-based platform aimed to streamline processes for handling records across different counties, addressing previous inefficiencies in sharing work between courthouses.
Kevin Breer, executive director of the Johnson County Bar Association, noted that the unified system, similar to that of Missouri, reduced stress for attorneys and staff. Although some lamented the discontinuation of Johnson County’s self-created system, the move towards consistency and familiarity was seen as a positive step. As of Nov. 5, the Kansas District Court Public Access Portal now allows users to search case information and court documents statewide for free.
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