HONOLULU, HI – The Hawaii State Judiciary’s website has been voted number one in the National Association for Court Management’s (NACM) Top 10 Court Technology Solutions Awards for 2016.  This year’s awards were presented during the organization’s annual conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on July 12.  The awards are given each year to courts that make the best use of technology to improve court services and access to the public.

Entries from across the United States were reviewed by the COSCA/NACM/NCSC Joint Technology Committee, a panel of judges appointed by the Conference of State Court Administrators (COSCA), National Association for Court Management (NACM), and National Center for State Courts (NCSC). 

Joint Technology Committee Co-Chair Kevin J. Bowling, J.D., explained that the panel of judges used a variety of criteria for comparing the award submissions, including: interactive capabilities; ease of access to public records; user interface; optimization for mobile devices; and accessibility.  He noted that in their assessment of this year’s nominees, the nine committee judges were uniformly impressed with the Hawaii State Judiciary website.

“In part, the success of the Hawaii State Judiciary’s website was due to the innovations Hawaii has used to significantly improve access to the courts – especially for self-represented litigants and those with limited English proficiency,” said Bowling.  “Hawaii certainly includes information in more languages than the majority of U.S. courts and the website is easy to navigate.  While some sites have lots of ‘bells and whistles,’ Hawaii’s website is clear, concise, and information is easy to find.”
 
In addition to the significant range of court process information, the community outreach information contained in the Hawaii State Judiciary’s YouTube Channel impressed the judges.

“I’d like to thank the members of the Joint Technology Committee for this honor.  Their expert feedback will guide us as we continue to improve our website and our access to the courts,” said Rodney Maile, Administrative Director of the Hawaii State Judiciary.  “I’d also like to thank the Judiciary’s Communications and Community Relations Office, the Office on Equality and Access to the Courts, and our partners at the Hawaii Information Consortium for the many hours of work they put into the website.  Their dedication reflects the Judiciary’s commitment to providing meaningful access to court processes and services to all persons, including those with limited English proficiency (LEP), those with disabilities, and self-represented litigants.”