CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts announced the online court system eCourts will continue to roll out to more counties this year.
NCAOC said 11 new counties will go online with eCourts on Oct. 14, 2024, including the following counties: Anson, Cabarrus, Cumberland, Hoke, Montgomery, Moore, Randolph, Richmond, Scotland, Stanly, and Union. That will bring the total expansion of eCourts in North Carolina to 49 of the state's 100 counties.
“Serving half of North Carolina with online access to court records by October 14, 2024, is an important milestone for the Judicial Branch as the eCourts project continues to transform access to justice for the people of our great state,” NCAOC Director Ryan S. Boyce said in a statement.
The NCAOC emphasized the benefits of launching eCourts, including public access to justice system records and integrating public safety systems.
The eCourts system is already serving half of North Carolina's population as of now, including the state's three largest regions, but that didn't come without issues.
In April 2023, an investigation by WCNC Charlotte's Michelle Boudin showed the system that was meant to modernize and connect all North Carolina courts there had been so many issues the planned May launch in Mecklenburg County was delayed indefinitely.
Attorneys in the impacted communities told Boudin the new system imposes added dangers: such as law enforcement officers no longer having access to information they need before making an arrest, or citizens not being able to get timely domestic violence restraining orders or child custody orders.
Parrish Daughtry doesn’t mince words when talking about the new way of doing things in some of North Carolina’s courthouses.
“This will do nothing but delay justice,” the veteran attorney said.
“There are pitfalls everywhere," Trey Fitzhugh, another attorney, said. "I don’t mean to sound alarmist but this is bad."
Mike Reece, also a criminal defense attorney said, “It’s been a train wreck from the get-go."
Daughtry agreed.
“The system frequently goes down, frequently stalls," Daughtry said. "We started calling it the wheel of death because you just watch the wheel spin.”
Another longtime attorney, Jack O’Hale, couldn't believe the financial cost.
“We spent $100 million to engineer a paperless system that uses more paper and is totally inefficient and doesn’t work and we have pissed away $100 million," he said.
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Fitzhugh tried to stress their new reality.
“This is going to sound overly dramatic but this is not a bump in the road," Fitzhugh said. "This is not a resistance to change – not an adjustment period. It’s a disaster.”
The eCourts system finally launched in Mecklenburg County in October 2023.
Below is an outline of WCNC Charlotte's coverage of the eCourts rollout in North Carolina:
- April 2023 - 'It’s a disaster' | New computer system causing court delays, civil liberties violations
- April 2023 - NC representative asking for inquiry on eCourts issues
- April 2023 - 'Everybody is just frustrated' | Lawmaker closely monitoring troubled court software rollout
- May 2023 - New lawsuit alleges hundreds of people wrongfully detained in NC
- August 2023 - Mecklenburg County to become fifth to test delayed computer system
- September 2023 - 'I'd rather have the rapture come': Attorneys, government officials unhappy about new online court system
- October 2023 - NC DMV commissioner asking for eCourts system delay
- October 2023 - Mecklenburg County launches eCourts despite pushback from law enforcement agencies
- October 2023 - eCourts issues on Sunday night
- April 2024 - NC Chief Justice replacing Mecklenburg County Chief District Court Judge
- May 2024 - Officials removed from North Carolina 'eCourts' lawsuit alleging unlawful arrests, jail time
- May 2024 - eCourts kiosks launching in some NC county courthouses
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