Video Kiosk for Public Use, Supreme Court, Civil Branch, New York County
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---- ·-----~~ i--~ ~~-~- .. -·- ., National Center for State Courts - ll!lll~~mlllllll~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~m 3 4185 00014669 5 INTERACTIVE INFORMATIONAL VIDEO KIOSK FOR PUBLIC USE, SUPREME COURT, CIVIL BRANCH, . NEWYORKCOUNTY Final Report November, 1996 I l@N li.98S ' MS4 Il996 State Justice Institute INTERACTIVE INFORMATIONAL \I VIDEO KIOSK FOR PUBLIC USE, SUPREME COURT, CIVIL BRANCH, NEW YORK COUNTY Final Report: November, 1996 by Laurie B. Milder, Esq. Project Director The Association of the Bar of the City of New York This project was funded by grant# 95-12A-E-079 from the State Justice Institute. The project was jointly developed by the Association ofthe Bar ofthe City ofNew York and the Unified Court System ofthe State ofNew York. Points ofview expressed herein are those ofthe author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies ofthe State Justice lnstiMe. State Justice L . ibrory InStltUteNational Center for State Courts 300 Newport Ave William>burg, VA 231 8·7-879R Interactive Video Advisory Committee Hon. Karla Moskowitz Mr. Roy Hoch Poppy Quattlebaum, Esq. (Chair, Interactive Video Fund for Modern Courts Managing Attorney Advisory Committee) Cadwalader Wickersham Supreme Court, N.Y. County Mr. Vincent Homonick &Taft Court Clerk Specialist Laurie B. Milder, Esq. Supreme Court N.Y. County Mr. Jim Rossetti (Project Director, Deputy County Clerk Interactive Video) Mr. Jack Jaeger Supreme Court N.Y. County Special Counsel First Deputy Chief Clerk Association of the Bar Supreme Court N. Y County George Santana, Esq. of the City of New York Senior Secretary to Justice Mr. Robert Kanter Supreme Court N.Y. County Professor Catherine T. Brodey Clerk of the Court Director of Archives Appellate Term Mr. Scott Singer New York City Supreme Court N.Y. County Payroll, Personnel T ecbnical College Supreme Court N.Y. County Professor Lynn Kelly Ms. Maris Buckner Fordham University Mr. Robert Spratt Court Clerk Specialist School of Law Deputy Director for Supreme Court N.Y. County Technology Services Howard Leventhal, Esq. Office of Court Administration Ms. Christine Carro Court Attorney Senior Secretary Supreme Court N.Y. County Mr. Ronald Stout, Jr. c/o Hon. Carmen Ciparick Deputy Director Kenneth McGrail, Esq. Research and Special Projects Captain Michael Castellano Special Referee Office of Court Administration Associate Court Officer I Supreme Court N.Y. County Supreme Court N.Y. County Mr. Joseph Tsang Mr. Robert Meade Information and Techology Christopher Chang, Esq. Deputy Chief Clerk Office of Court Administration Doar Devorkin & Rueck Supreme Court N.Y. County John Werner, Esq. Lou Crespo, Esq. Mr. Edward Morrisey Chief Clerk Principal Law Clerk Budget & Purchasing & Executive Officer c/o Han. William Davis Supreme Court N.Y. County Supreme Court N.Y. County Mr. Bill Deitz Mr. Chester Mount, Jr. · Senior Court Clerk Deputy Director, Data Services Supreme Court N.Y. County Office of Court Administration Major Gerard Fennell Mr. Jack May Principal Court Officer II Senior LAN Administrator Supreme Court N.Y. County Supreme Court N.Y. County Eugene Gaer, Esq. Mr. Bernard Odoms Attorney at Law Manager, Technical Operations Office of Court Administration Han. Norman Goodman County Clerk Han. Stanley S. Ostrau Supreme Court N.Y. County Presiding Judge of the Appellate Term Mr. Sheng Guo Supreme Court N.Y. County Information and Technology Office of Court Administration 11 FINAL REPORT STATE JUSTICE INSTITUTE INTERACTIVE INFORMATIONAL VIDEO FOR PUBLIC USE. SUPREME COURT, CIVIL BRANCH, MANHATTAN November. 1996 Abstract The New York State Supreme Court (Civil Branch), New York County, and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York Fund, Inc. ("City Bar Fund") established an interactive informational video for public use in the Civil Branch of the Supreme Court in Manhattan, at 60 Centre Street under a two year grant from the State Justice Institute. Approximately 5,000 people enter the courthouse at 60 Centre Street each day. The courthouse is a large and complex facility, making it very difficult for most people to locate where they need to be. The video kiosk makes the courthouse a much less confusing place by aiding the public, lawyers, and jurors to rapidly find their specific destination so that they may conduct their court business most efficiently without requiring the services of overburdened court personnel. In addition, jurors and members of the public frequently need basic information on the court's procedures, which the kiosk provides. By being programmed to respond to touch direction, in English, Spanish, and Braille, the video also addresses the special needs of people with disabilities. Input was sought from the Association's 181 Committees who have members with relevant knowledge about the court system, the public's needs in conducting their court business, and technology. The Interactive Video was created with the involvement of an Advisory Committee consisting of judges, Court personnel, lawyers, and members of the public. The Association's Robert B. McKay Community Outreach Law Program ("Community Outreach") managed the project, drawing upon experience from it's previously completed Sfl and lOLA- funded Housing Court Video Project. The Kiosk system was installed in the courthouse in July, 1996. This final report covers the details of the two-year effort with an appendix consisting of computer documentation for the system, sample maps and video screens, the video script, kiosk self generated reports, a descriptive brochure, and the evaluator's report. The Interactive Video tremendously benefits the members of the public, lawyers, judges and court personnel who conduct business in the court each day. We hope the video project will serve as an important model for other court systems throughout the United States, to encourage greater use of interactive technology in the court system and to transform the courts into more "user-friendly" environments. 111 Table of Contents I. Introduction . l ll. Project Summary .......................................... l Ill. Project Management ....................................... 8 IV. Status and Organizational Capacity of Project Collaborators ........... 9 V. Conclusion .............................................. ll VI. Appendices .............................................. 12 A. Videoscript B. Maps C. Sample Video Screens D. Sample Kiosk Self-Generated Reports E. System Documentation F. Project Brochure G. Evaluator's Report IV FINAL REPORT STATE JUSTICE INSTITUTE GRANT INTRODUCTION The New York State Unified Court System and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York collaborated to develop an interactive informational video kiosk for the Manhattan Civil Branch of the New York Supreme Court under a two year grant from the State Justice Institute. The Manhattan Civil Branch of the Supreme Court in New York dealt with over 70,000 actions last year. The court is a large and complex maze of offices, courtrooms, alcoves, and mezzanine levels - a challenge to any first time visitor trying to find the right office or courtroom. About 5,000 people -judges, jurists, litigants, witnesses, lawyers, messengers and other members of the public - enter the building each day. Not all speak or understand English; and even if they do, there may not be anyone readily available to answer basic questions about requests for documents or other standard services. PROJECT SUMMARY The Kiosk, installed in July 1996 inside the main public entrance to the courthouse, provides quick consistent and easily comprehensible information to the public. For example, visitors trying to find a particular office or courtroom are provided with easy to read on- screen maps of each floor of the courthouse showing the exact route to take. A thermal printer provides a printed map in seconds as a further directional aid. Besides guiding visitors, the kiosk gives information about court procedures, including I getting a passport, filing a name change, obtaining a guardianship appointment, and other matters in which people may be inclined to act pro se. Individuals on jury duty are able to obtain basic information, and those seeking organizations providing free legal services or having complaints about a lawyer, judge or court personnel are referred to the appropriate agency. Court technical staff are able to easily update the Kiosk's information as often as necessary. The Kiosk conforms with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act and is accessible to those in a wheelchair as well as to the hearing, visually impaired, or blind user. The kiosk utilizes a touch-screen with prompts via voice and visual commands. All information is available in English, Spanish and Braille. Since there was no other interactive video technology in any court in New York City when we started this project in 1994 (and at present), the kiosk has served as a model for courts and other public offices in New York City that are contemplating how to make effective use of current technology. During the course of the project we have been regularly consulted on ideas being considered for installation of similar technology in other courts and municipal agencies. We are informed that many of these projects are well underway and that our kiosk served as the impetUs for their development. During the next year the Court will continue to evaluate the effectiveness of the kiosk at this demonstration site for more extensive and advanced applications. The interactive video was developed with the