On Friday, March 4, the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts (NCAOC) and Judge Marion Warren, NCAOC director, hosted Representative John Faircloth (Guilford County) and Senator Shirley Randleman (Stokes, Surry, Wilkes counties) to discuss the use of technology in our courts. Judge Warren and the legislators toured the NCAOC's data and network operations centers.

"Showing legislators how state funds are being used in the Judicial Branch is very important," said Judge Warren. "Although a great deal of work remains, we have made great progress to modernize processes, increase access to information, and improve interaction with the courts through technology enablement projects."

Both Rep. Faircloth and Sen. Randleman serve as chairs on their respective Justice and Public Safety Committees. Representative Faircloth is a retired chief of police. Senator Randleman is also a retired Clerk of Superior Court in Wilkes County, and knows the court system very well.

"Judicial Branch IT systems run round the clock and are critical to North Carolina's overall justice and public safety system," said Rep. Faircloth. "We must understand the complexity of these systems and the infrastructure needed so that we can determine appropriate and adequate allocation of State funds."

"Modern computer applications and infrastructure to support judicial officials, court functions, and citizens interacting with the courts are a must," said Sen. Randleman. "With the caseload that our courts manage every day, technology must be leveraged in a greater way to support demands and expectations."

Among the administrative services to help the North Carolina unified court system operate more efficiently and effectively, NCAOC provides information technology services and solutions to support the day-to-day work of the North Carolina Judicial Branch. This includes supporting computer hardware, software, and telephone systems in more than 260 court offices statewide, including 400 district and superior courtrooms. The NCAOC also maintains and operates a statewide communications network to support the Judicial Branch, including data and network operations centers in Raleigh, which is the hub of its operations. In addition to court users, NCAOC supports and maintains access to its criminal systems for over 32,000 law enforcement users statewide.

About N.C. Judicial Branch
The Judicial Branch is an equal and distinctively separate branch and core function of government. More than 6,000 Judicial Branch employees statewide administer justice in courthouses in North Carolina's 100 counties. The Judicial Branch budget for FY 2015 - 2016 is $484.9M, 92% of which is used to pay salaries and the remaining 8% is used for operations. The Judicial Branch receives only 2.23% of the overall State budget. More than 54% of the Judicial Branch's appropriation is equivalent to revenues collected by the courts through imposed fines and fees that are deposited in the State General Fund.

About N.C. Administrative Office of the Courts
The N.C. Administrative Office of the Courts (NCAOC) is the administrative agency for the N.C. Judicial Branch, providing administrative services to help the North Carolina court system operate more efficiently and effectively, taking into account each courthouse's diverse needs, caseloads, and available resources.