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[Ars] Lawyers: New court software is so awful it’s getting people wrongly arrested

2K views 14 replies 15 participants last post by  Liranan 
#1 ·
Quote:
OAKLAND, Calif.-Most pieces of software don't have the power to get someone arrested-but Tyler Technologies' Odyssey Case Manager does. This is the case management software that runs on the computers of hundreds and perhaps even thousands of court clerks and judges in county courthouses across the US. (Federal courts use an entirely different system.)

Typically, when a judge makes a ruling-for example, issuing or rescinding a warrant-those words said by a judge in court are entered into Odyssey. That information is then relied upon by law enforcement officers to coordinate arrests and releases and to issue court summons. (Most other courts, even if they don't use Odyssey, use a similar software system from another vendor.)

But, just across the bay from San Francisco, Alameda County's deputy public defender, Jeff Chorney, says that since the county switched from a decades-old computer system to Odyssey in August, dozens of defendants have been wrongly arrested or jailed. Others have even been forced to register as sex offenders unnecessarily. "I understand that with every piece of technology, bugs have to be worked out," he said, practically exasperated. "But we're not talking about whether people are getting their paychecks on time. We're talking about people being locked in cages, that's what jail is. It's taking a person and locking them in a cage."
Source.

The software used in the justice system should be mission critical-like in terms of quality; we're talking about safeguarding fundamental basic rights here, but apparently it's more following the supposedly "new normal" of Beta-quality-let-your-customers-be-the-guinea-pigs.
 
#2 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by tpi2007 View Post

Source.

The software used in the justice system should be mission critical-like in terms of quality; we're talking about safeguarding fundamental basic rights here, but apparently it's more following the supposedly "new normal" of Beta-quality-let-your-customers-be-the-guinea-pigs.
lol, I was trained to use a version of Odyssey when I was a case manager at a prison facility, government is soooo bad at technology, they made us use DOS for some stuff, literally to cheap to upgrade anything, ever. made me lulz hard when I first started that job, luckily I am not there anymore.
 
#6 ·
please, it's not like any of this is new since switching to "paperless."

as the phrase goes, the wheels of justice turn slowly . . unless you have money.
 
#8 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by tpi2007 View Post

Source.

The software used in the justice system should be mission critical-like in terms of quality; we're talking about safeguarding fundamental basic rights here, but apparently it's more following the supposedly "new normal" of Beta-quality-let-your-customers-be-the-guinea-pigs.
Hmm...sounds like the terrible processes from the time I worked for one of the largest medical companies in the country and essentially they tested in prod (aka clinics). *Shudders as the bad memories return*
 
#10 ·
I sure hope in this case that all those effected are suing the company or relevant government body for wrongful imprisonment. What's sort of a sick twist is that while the 'glitch' is active on a particular person, you are legally required to be wrongfully imprisoned, because resisting in any way would tack on more charges that would withstand the overturning of the wrongful conviction.

"I know you aren't really supposed to go to jail, but you have to while we sort out our software issues. Resistance is against the law, even when we know we're wrong"

This stuff is why people don't trust the police/government. I tend to give them the benefit of the doubt, but my mom hates the police from all the horror stories she hears and sees.
rolleyes.gif
 
#12 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheLAWNOOB View Post

Well, someone decided it's better to wrongly imprison innocent people than to miss a few terrorist and pedos.

It's all for the greater good, am I right?
Except software glitches of this nature are likely just as likely (not sure how else to put that) to let the people who are supposed to be locked up go free.

I understand (or at least hope) there was sarcasm in your remark. But the truth is a lot of people will actually have this attitude.
 
#15 ·
Freedom is slavery.
 
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