CourtHack, America’s Foremost Court Hackathon is happening March 4th-5th in Salt Lake City.

I will be a judge there, and am looking forward to seeing great new ideas for improving court experience. There are cash prizes, and experts and case studies from around the country about how to make courts more tech-enabled and effective.

It will be a packed 22 hours — it will be great to see what can come out of less than a day of work.

SCHEDULE
Matheson Courthouse

450 State Street, Salt Lake City, UT

The brightest legal minds, technologists, entrepreneurs, and others driven by a need to improve the courts for their fellow Americans will form teams and compete in this epic, 22-hour hackathon. Technical, business and legal mentors from partners and sponsors are matched with teams they can actively support before, during, and after the event.

Friday’s “Voices from the Field” discussion panel brings industry experts to share their insights and experiences so participants get a better understanding of the challenges. Afterwards, participants can pitch their ideas and recruit or join teams.

Fri, Mar 4

05:00pm – registration

06:00pm – “Voices from the Field” panel

07:00pm – team matching

07:30pm – dinner

08:00pm – hackathon start + mentoring

11:59pm – dinner, round 2

Sat, Mar 5

04:00am – pre-breakfast breakfast

08:00am – breakfast

12:00pm – lunch

04:00pm – heavy snacks/light dinner

06:00pm – hackathon ends

06:30pm – demos & judging

08:00pm – dinner & deliberations

09:00pm – prizes awarded

Here are the challenges they will be tackling:

CHALLENGES

 

Our continually-in-development challenge sets are created in consultation with esteemed partners and designed to help shape how participants approach their projects. The challenges contained within each category are suggestions, not restrictions, of things teams can build that will have an immediate and beneficial impact on people’s lives.
1. Accountability: Predictive Analytics to Target Court Oversight

Sandra’s Story: Sandra is a widow. Her cousin Elma was appointed by the court to handle her finances, but Sandra believes Elma has been stealing from her. Sandra doesn’t have a way to prove this and fears she will soon be out on the street.

 

Court Technology Opportunity: Courts are legally responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars in estate assets – both willed and in situations of conservatorships. Though they’re supposed to review these cases annually, most courts simply don’t have the capacity or resources. As a result, it’s difficult to know when financial abuses take place.

• Resources:  Two training data sets from Minnesota, proposed red flag algorithms, the results of an NCSC analytics review, and a subject matter expert. Download the latest resources for the Accountability Challenge Set here.
• Possible Deliverables: Teams analyze data from Minnesota and identify algorithms to flag cases of potential abuse automatically.

 
2. Public Access to Justice: Apps, Tools, and Processes to improve access to justice and allow the public to resolve disputes efficiently

Ben’s Story: Ben ran out to buy food at the grocery store and got pulled over by the police, who noticed his taillight was out. In his haste, he had left home without his wallet. The officer gave him a ticket for driving without a license and for the defective taillight. The fines total $548. He fixed the tail light and has a valid license, now he needs to get this information to the court without missing work. He needs a way to go online and explain his case and provide proof of compliance.

 

Court Technology Opportunity: Courts lag other industries badly in web and mobile technologies. Simple mobile apps that enable citizens to complete core transactions through remote access will significantly improve efficiency, and help to move cases forward in a timely and affordable manner.

• Resources:  List of transactions, data models for some of the transactions, subject matter experts.
• Possible Deliverables:  Tools and mobile apps that implement target transactions with court:
  • Pay a fine or fee.
  • Protest a fee or fine and plead your case.
  • Look up a court date.
  • Retrieve a case file document.
  • File a case.
  • File a case document.
  • Notify a party of a case action.
  • Schedule a court hearing.
  • Schedule a community service sanction.
  • Track a community service sanction (GPS location).
  • Request a reduction of fees or fines due to not having money.

 
3. Legal Speed: Remote dispatch of emergency protection orders

Maria’s Story: Maria has an extremely controlling husband who violently abuses her. She knows the first step to leaving him is to get an emergency protection order to protect herself and her kids, but she can’t leave the house without arousing suspicion. Maria needs a way to have a protective order issued to her remotely so she can begin the process of escaping her situation. She also needs to know that the police will have access to the order the next time the neighbors call them to their apartment building.

 

Court Technology Opportunity: Speeding up the flow of court information to and from the public and the court’s justice system partners is key to personal and public safety.

• Resources: Expertise and example data sets provided on site.
• Possible Deliverables: An app to facilitate the application process combined with video conferencing to expedite the process.

 
4. Wild Card: Gaps in the Court System
CourtHack wants your creative, out-of-the-box thinking! If you have an idea that doesn’t fit within the previous challenge sets, run with it. You can help reinvent how people interact with the courts to make it more efficient and pleasant for all involved.

Two examples to inspire you:

 

Amir’s Story: Amir came to the US four years ago. He recently received a notice in the mail alerting him that he has been called for jury duty. Although he would like to fulfill his obligation as a citizen, he isn’t sure that his English is good enough for this important responsibility. He is confused by the instructions in the notice, and needs access to an interpreter or information in his native language in order to find out what to do.

 

Marina’s Story: Marina studies full time and works evenings and weekends. After saving enough to buy a car and move to a better apartment, her landlord refused to refund her security deposit. Because of her work and studies, she doesn’t have time to go to the courthouse to settle this, and has been unable to find information online on how to force her landlord to refund her deposit.

 

Court Technology Opportunity: There are numerous gaps in the court system and court technology market that can be addressed by CourtHack participants.

• Resources: On-site experts from both the court system and court technology companies. There will be court experts in attendance who are are knowledgeable about current court problems, useful innovations and desired services.
• Possible Deliverables: Constrained only by the imagination and skill of the programmers (i.e. online dispute resolution, litigant portals, business rule engines for managing cases).