CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A technical error in eCourts, North Carolina's new computer system for courts, caused "significant delay in completing processes at the jail" on Sunday night, WCNC Charlotte has learned.
For approximately six hours, magistrates were unable to schedule future court dates into the new digital system, which launched in Mecklenburg County earlier this month when the county became only the fifth in the state to receive the system from Tyler Technologies. At a total cost of $100 million, the system will eventually expand to all 100 counties in North Carolina.
In lieu of the technical problems on Sunday, Judge Elizabeth Thornton Trosch authorized the return to some handwritten paper processing.
“The eWarrants and Odyssey outages, service and inoperability are causing significant delays in completing processes at the jail," Trosch said in a statement obtained by WCNC Charlotte Monday. "The help desk has been unable to provide workarounds. The magistrates are unable to complete criminal processes in eWarrants. I cannot get any indication of service resolution or timeline. I have approved transitioning to paper processes until service is restored.”
On Monday, the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts, which manages oversight of the system, responded to rumors that the broader system had gone down.
"Our understanding is that Mecklenburg County did not revert to paper and court sessions are operating normally this morning," the AOC said in a released statement. "Following a regular software update, the eCourts vendor had to conduct additional maintenance to resolve an issue in which magistrates could not select a future court date while completing criminal processes in eWarrants. This issue lasted from approximately 6pm to midnight and no other eWarrants functionality was impacted. For those processes that required entry of a next court date, those processes had to be completed in paper during that timeframe and were later entered into the system."
Mecklenburg County District Attorney Spencer Merriweather told WCNC Charlotte, "We were made aware last night of system difficulties," he wrote. "We’re doing our best to coordinate with our court partners to mitigate whatever impacts may occur."
The history of eCourts
Concerned officials have expressed frustration and worry about the system to WCNC Charlotte even before it launched in Mecklenburg County.
"Certainly there’s a great deal of anxiety," Merriweather previously told WCNC Charlotte's Michelle Boudin, who has been following issues with the system for months.
Since first launching in North Carolina, reports of glitches led law enforcement agencies to voice their concerns about public safety. There have also been long lines at courthouses, delayed court hearings, and even allegations of civil rights violations with eCourts.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Johnny Jennings previously told WCNC Charlotte said some people have even been arrested twice on the same warrant because the new system had not updated to reflect updated information.
"Imagine if we have the wrong information and we get into a conflict," Garry McFadden, the Mecklenburg County sheriff, explained to Boudin ahead of the Mecklenburg Count launch. "It's more than paperwork or the system goes down. It's also safety of my deputies."
Lawsuits filed across the country, including in North Carolina, access the system of causing civil rights violations, including allegations individuals were wrongfully jailed or kept in custody longer than they should have been.
Contact Michelle Boudin at mboudin@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
CONTINUING COVERAGE FROM WCNC CHARLOTTE
- October 2023: Mecklenburg County launches eCourts despite pushback from law enforcement agencies
- October 2023: NC DMV commissioner asking for eCourts system delay
- September 2023: 'I'd rather have the rapture come': Attorneys, government officials unhappy about new online court system
- August 2023: Mecklenburg County to become fifth to test delayed computer system
- May 2023: New lawsuit alleges hundreds of people wrongfully detained in NC
- April 2023: 'Everybody is just frustrated' | Lawmaker closely monitoring troubled court software rollout
- Feb. 2023: 'It's kind of like the rapture' | Concerns ahead of changes at the courts
- March 2023: Amid NC technical issues, Mecklenburg County will wait longer to get new computer system for courts
- April 2023: 'It’s a disaster' | New computer system causing court delays, civil liberties violations