Design and Implementation of Substantive Applications in Criminal Law: Beyond A Court Management Perspective

This paper describes the experience of one New York court in extending its uses of microcomputers beyond the records management functions initially contemplated, to encompass substantive applications serving the judiciary in an advisory role. The applications described include a rule-based expert system in case disposition, and a system for the detection of ethical conflicts in the selection of assigned counsel. These substantive applications are seen to significantly extend the utility of the standard database functions typically encountered.