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STATE-OF-THE-ART IPHONE.[Bexar County Press Conference on June 7, 2024. ]
IT PROBABLY IS IMPOSSIBLE TO DO THAT, AND IT'S VERY, VERY DIFFICULT BECAUSE WE BASICALLY ARE DOING AND WORKING WITH TWO SEPARATE AND DISTINCT TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS. CURRENTLY, OUR, WHAT WE CALL OUR ECJ SYSTEM, WHICH IS CALLED THE ENTERPRISE COUNTY INTEGRATED JUSTICE SYSTEM, IS BEING USED WITH WHAT OUR SOFTWARE IS, I BELIEVE, ODYSSEY THROUGH THE VENDOR, TYLER TECHNOLOGIES.THE COUNTY HAS SPENT A LOT OF MONEY TO GET THIS UPGRADE.
ALSO WANT THE PUBLIC TO UNDERSTAND THAT PARTS OF THE JUSTICE SYSTEM HAVE BEEN ONLINE AND ARE CURRENTLY WORKING, NAMELY, OUR CIVIL DISTRICT COURT SYSTEM, OUR CHILDREN'S COURT SYSTEM, OUR COUNTY CLERK SYSTEM, OUR JUSTICE, THE PEACE SYSTEMS ARE ALL UP AND RUNNING.
SO I BEG OF THE PUBLIC AND OF THE COMMUNITY AND THOSE PEOPLE THAT ARE AFFECTED, AND I UNDER UNDERSTAND THAT INDIVIDUALS ARE BEING AFFECTED BY THE TRANSITION, THAT TO PLEASE BE PATIENT.
WE HAVE HARDWORKING, DILIGENT, COMPETENT COUNTY STAFF AND CONTRACTORS THAT ARE WORKING HARD RIGHT NOW TO FIX THOSE INDIVIDUAL PROBLEMS OR ISSUES AS THEY MAY ARISE.
I ALSO HAVE WITH ME TODAY, JUDGE RON RONELL.
HE IS THE SENIOR CRIMINAL DISTRICT COURT JUDGE.
HE'S ALSO BEEN THE LOCAL ADMINISTRATIVE JUDGE, AND HE HAS BEEN A LEADER IN THE COURT SYSTEM IN ORDER TO GET THIS PROCESS TO BE ACCOMMODATED IN THE BEST WAY.
I'D ASK THAT JUDGE RON, HELL COME FORWARD TO GIVE YOU A STATE OF THE COURT IN REGARDS TO THE CURRENT ISSUES TODAY.
THANK YOU JUDGE SAKAI, THANK YOU FOR THE LEADERSHIP YOU PROVIDED AS IT RELATES TO THIS ISSUE AND EVERYTHING THAT YOU DO ON BEHALF OF THE COURTS.
NOW, WE KNEW WHEN WE STARTED THIS PROCESS, UH, SEVERAL YEARS AGO, THAT IT WAS NOT GONNA BE ERROR FREE.
I MEAN, CLEARLY, WHEN YOU'RE GONNA CONVERT AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT SYSTEM LIKE THE DAS SYSTEM INTO A WEB-BASED, MODERN DAY WINDOWS TYPE SYSTEM THAT WE'RE CONVERTING INTO, THERE'S GONNA BE SOME ISSUES.
NOW, WE NEVER WANT TO MAKE LIGHT OF THE FACT THAT HUMAN LIVES ARE BEING INVOLVED HERE.
RIGHT? YOU HAVE FOLKS THAT ARE BEING ACCUSED OF CRIME THAT ARE IN CUSTODY.
YOU HAVE FOLKS THAT ARE VICTIMS OF CRIME THAT WANT TO SEE THEIR PARTICULAR CASE PROCESSED.
AND SO IN DOING SO, THE COURTS HAVE CONTINUED TO FUNCTION.
UM, THERE ARE SEVERAL TRIALS THAT HAVE BEEN ONGOING THIS WEEK.
WE KNOW THAT THERE WAS A DARK PERIOD THAT OCCURRED DURING THE SWITCHOVER, WHICH BEGAN LAST FRIDAY AT THE END OF THE DAY, UP UNTIL SUNDAY NIGHT WHEN WE DID THE SWITCH OVER TO TYLER.
NOW, IN THAT PARTICULAR TIME, THERE WAS A BACKLOG THAT DEVELOPED OVER AT THE JAIL.
THAT PARTICULAR BACKLOG HAS BEEN WORKED ON.
IT WENT FROM 800 FOLKS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE WEEK.
NOW IT'S CURRENTLY DOWN TO ABOUT 285 ON TOP OF ALL THE NEW ARRESTEES THAT ARE COMING INTO THE COURT SYSTEM.
THROUGH THE JAIL PROCESS AND THROUGH MAGISTRATION, THERE HAVE BEEN SOME ISSUES OR WORKING THROUGH THEM.
WE KNOW THAT THERE HAVE BEEN A LOT OF DIFFERENT PROCESSES THAT HAVE BEEN IN PLACE SINCE THE TIME THAT WE WENT LIVE.
UM, THE COURTS ARE KEEPING IN VERY CLOSE CONTACT WITH IT HERE, UM, IN BEXAR COUNTY.
WE'RE VERY PROUD OF THE WORK THAT IT HAS DONE HERE WITHIN THE COUNTY SYSTEM.
TYLER IS NOW UNDERGOING THE BIGGEST AND LARGEST CONVERSION, AT LEAST IN TEXAS.
UH, GOING INTO THIS NEW SYSTEM PROBABLY IN THE COUNTRY.
THIS IS AN EXTREMELY LARGE COUNTRY, EXCUSE ME, AN EXTREMELY LARGE COUNTY.
THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE INVOLVED IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM.
AND TO SEE EVERYBODY WORKING AS HARD AS THEY, AS THEY HAVE BEEN TO MAKE THESE PROCESSES WORK, HAVE BEEN AMAZING.
ATTORNEYS HAVE BEEN COMMUNICATING TO THE COURTS.
UH, WE'VE BEEN COMMUNICATING VERY CLOSELY WITH THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE, UH, WITH THE DISTRICT CLERK'S OFFICE, UH, WITH THE COUNTY CLERK'S OFFICE, WITH THE PRETRIAL SERVICES, WITH THE MANAGER ASSIGNED COUNSEL, THE PUBLIC DEFENDER'S OFFICE, AND OF COURSE THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICES.
AND SO WE KNOW THAT A LOT OF THE PROCESSES THAT HAVE BEEN COMPLAINED ABOUT ARE NOW COMING AROUND.
WE EXPECT TO BE FULLY OPERATIONAL WITHOUT MAJOR GLITCHES, REALLY BY THE END OF THE WEEK, WHICH IS TOMORROW.
WE THINK THAT THERE WILL BE CONTINUING ONGOING, SMALLER ISSUES THAT ARE COMING UP THAT'S GONNA HAPPEN IN ANY PROCESS CHANGE.
AND SO WITH THAT, WE'RE JUST ASKING THE COURT TO BE PATIENT, KNOW THAT THE COUNTY IS WORKING VERY, VERY HARD TO MAKE THESE PROCESSES WORK, AND THE COURTS ARE CONTINUING TO FUNCTION.
UNDERSTANDING ALL THAT, WE'RE VERY GRATEFUL FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO FINALLY TRANSITION INTO THE 21ST CENTURY WITH THIS NEW COMPUTER SYSTEM.
I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND PASS THE MICROPHONE BACK TO COUNTY JUDGE SAKAI.
UH, I WANT TO BRING UP MR. MARK GAUGER, WHO IS THE DIRECTOR OF THE BEXAR COUNTY INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT.
UH, HE'S BEEN OUR LONGSTANDING
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DEPARTMENT HEAD IN THERE.HE AND HIS STAFF ARE SOME OF THE PEOPLE WORKING AROUND THE CLOCK.
AND, UH, MARK HAS ASSURED ME THAT WE'RE GOING TO OPEN THE SYSTEM BACK UP AND THAT, UH, MARK, I'VE ASKED TO MAKE SOME BRIEF REMARKS IN ORDER TO ASSURE THE PUBLIC THAT WE KNOW WHAT WE'RE DOING AND WE'RE NOT GOING TO COMPROMISE THE SAFETY OF OUR COMMUNITY.
MARK, WOULD YOU PLEASE COME UP HERE? THANK YOU VERY MUCH, JUDGE.
I'M OUR CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER.
UH, I JUST WANT TO, YOU KNOW, TOUCH ON A FEW THINGS.
UH, JUDGE RONELL AND JUDGE AKA KIND OF ALLUDED TO THE FACT THAT WE KNEW A SYSTEM LIKE THIS AND A CHANGE LIKE THIS, UH, WOULD BE BUMPY AND THERE WOULD BE ISSUES.
IT'S ACTUALLY NORMAL FOR SYSTEMS THAT HAVE, UH, A LOT OF BUMPINESS AND, AND SOME ISSUES THAT GET RESOLVED.
WE HAVE A LARGE SUPPORT TEAM, UH, WORKING ON THIS.
AS JUDGE SAID, WE'RE STAFF 24 7.
WE HAVE 60, UH, BCIT, AS WELL AS CONTRACTORS AND TYLER, UH, TECHNOLOGIES PERSONNEL SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY.
THEY'LL CONTINUE TO ASSIST OFFICES AND DEPARTMENTS THROUGHOUT THE MONTH AND INTO THE NEXT COMING MONTHS.
UH, WE HAVE PROCESSES IN PLACE, LIKE I SAID, TO RESOLVE THOSE ISSUES.
WE RANK AND PRIORITIZE THIS IN COORDINATION OR THOSE ISSUES IN COORDINATION WITH THE OFFICES AND DEPARTMENTS.
UH, SO WE WANNA FOCUS ON THOSE MOST CRITICAL ISSUES FIRST.
ONE THING I DID WANT TO ADDRESS VERY SPECIFICALLY WAS SOME INFORMATION THAT WAS REPORTED YESTERDAY IN THE MEDIA ABOUT EXPUNGED CASES.
WE HAD TYLER DO, UH, AN ASSESSMENT.
WE, UM, ARE VERY CONFIDENT THAT WE HAVE NOT EXPOSED ANY EXPUNGED CASE INFORMATION TO THE PUBLIC AT ALL.
WE CAN DO THAT THROUGH OUR RECORDS.
UM, SO ANYTHING THAT WAS FLAGGED AS EXPUNGED, UM, IN THE OLD SYSTEM, UM, WAS NOT EXPOSED IN THE NEW SYSTEM IF IT WAS FLAGGED, IT'S FLAGGED THE SAME WAY.
UM, THERE WAS ANOTHER ISSUE, UM, RELATED TO A GUILTY, UM, NOT GUILTY CONFLICT THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH EXPUNGED CASES.
WE WERE CORRECTED IT LAST NIGHT, AND WHEN THE PORTAL COMES BACK ONLINE, THOSE THINGS WILL BE ADDRESSED.
UM, BUT THAT ISSUE HAD TO DO WITH A DATA MIGRATION AND A CODE MAPPING ISSUE WHERE WE WERE MOVING AGAIN FROM THE OLD LEGACY MAINFRAME SYSTEM TO THE NEW SYSTEM.
THERE WAS A CONFLICT AND A COUPLE OF CODES.
SO THE WAY THAT WORKS IS EVERY, UM, PERSON HAS REALLY THREE THINGS THAT ARE SHOWING UP ON THE PORTAL.
THERE'S A LOT OF STUFF, BUT THERE'S THEIR PLEA.
THERE IS THEIR FINAL DISPOSITION, WHICH IS WHAT THE COURT, UH, OR, OR WHAT THE JURY OR THE, OR THE JUDGE DECIDED.
AND THEN THERE IS A REPORTING FEATURE, UM, WHICH IS ALSO CALLED A STAT CLOSURE.
AND THAT STAT CLOSURE IS WHERE THE CONFLICT WAS SHOWING UP.
WE'VE CORRECTED THAT ACROSS ALL CASES WHERE, WHERE IT HAPPENED, UM, AND IT WON'T HAPPEN AGAIN.
THE, UH, THE STAT CLOSURE IS A REPORTING PIECE TO THE OCA.
UM, SO WE'RE CONFIDENT NOW IN THE DATA.
UH, WE WILL BE OPENING THE PORTAL.
IT SHOULD BE OPEN BY THE TIME WE GET OUTTA HERE.
THE PORTAL WILL AGAIN BE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AND ALL OF OUR JUSTICE PARTNERS, ALL OF OUR ATTORNEYS.
UM, SO AGAIN, THAT, THAT PORTAL WILL BE OPEN.
BUT I JUST WANT TO, YOU KNOW, REITERATE THE FACT THAT WE DO HAVE PEOPLE THAT ARE WORKING ON THE SYSTEM AND WE'RE VERY CONFIDENT IN ALL THE ANALYSIS WE'VE DONE, UH, THAT THE EXPUNGED CASES ARE NOT BEING SHOWN.
NOW, I WILL SAY THIS, THEY HAVE TO BE EXPUNGED AND FLAGGED IN THE SYSTEM AND THE COURT AND THE COUNTY HAS A PROCESS.
SO TO BE EXPUNGED, A CASE ACTUALLY HAS TO HAVE A JUDGE'S ORDER THAT IS SIGNED AND APPROVED AND ASSOCIATED WITH THE CASE IN ORDER FOR THAT CASE TO BE EXPUNGED, RIGHT? SO WE'RE CONFIDENT AGAIN THAT OUR OLD SYSTEM MATCHES WHAT'S IN THE NEW SYSTEM WITH REGARDS TO EXPUNGED CASES.
UM, SO WITH THAT, I DON'T KNOW IF I'M GONNA PASS IT BACK TO JUDGE AKA.
UH, I WANNA RECOGNIZE COMMISSIONER REBECCA CLAY FLORES PRECINCT ONE.
UH, SHE HAS SHOWN UP HERE TODAY TO SEE WHAT SHE COULD DO IN ORDER TO ASSIST ANY OF HER CONSTITUENTS.
UH, I ALSO WANNA RECOGNIZE THAT SHERIFF SALAZAR IS ON DUTY.
I BELIEVE HE IS AT A CRIME SCENE.
MANY OF Y'ALL MAY BE AWARE OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES THERE.
UH, WE HAVE, UH, HIS DEPUTY CHIEF JANSSEN, UH, THE DEPUTY CHIEF WHO WORKS AT THE BEXAR COUNTY JAIL.
SO AT THIS TIME, I WILL PAUSE IN ORDER TO ALLOW QUESTION AND ANSWERS, AND THEN WHATEVER PARTICULAR PERSON CAN BEST ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS.
EARLIER THIS WEEK, ANOTHER REPORTER CASE ASKED ABOUT ISSUES AND PROBLEMS THAT Y'ALL ARE EXPERIENCING, BUT WE WERE TOLD THAT THERE WERE NO ISSUES.
SO WHAT HAPPENED TWO, THREE DAYS AGO TO NOW? WELL, QUITE FRANKLY, THE MEDIA HAS BROUGHT THOSE ISSUES TO THE FOREFRONT AND WE WERE ABLE TO ISOLATE THOSE PARTICULAR, UH, ISSUES.
UH, WE HAVE NOW ALL COME TOGETHER.
UH, THE COMMISSIONER'S COURT HAS LEND ITSELF.
THE COUNTY MANAGER'S STAFF, OUR WHOLE COUNTY TEAM HAS COME
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TOGETHER TO JOIN TOGETHER WITH THE BCI TEAM AND TO COORDINATE.AND I THINK THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF HOW WE ARE NOW OPERATING HERE IN BEXAR COUNTY.
I WAS ON THE PHONE WITH THE SHERIFF AFTER THOSE ISSUES WERE BROUGHT TO MY ATTENTION.
I WAS IN TOUCH WITH JUDGE RON, RON.
HELL, I WAS IN TOUCH WITH OUR BCIT MARK GER.
AND SO AGAIN, YOU'RE SEEING, YEAH, PERHAPS THINGS COULD HAVE BEEN DONE, UH, MORE QUICKLY, BUT I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PUBLIC UNDERSTANDS HOW DIFFICULT THIS TRANSITION WAS AND IS AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE.
BUT I WANT TO MAKE CLEAR THAT THE PUBLIC WAS NEVER IN HARM'S WAY.
PUBLIC SAFETY WAS NEVER JEOPARDIZED BY THIS TRANSITION.
WE DID OUR VERY BEST TO MINIMIZE THOSE ISSUES.
BUT IF YOU REMEMBER MY ANALOGY, THIS WAS A VERY DIFFICULT TRANSITION.
SO I HOPE THE PUBLIC WILL BE PATIENT AND UNDERSTAND THAT I'VE GOT COUNTY EMPLOYEES WORKING AROUND THE CLOCK RIGHT NOW TO FIX THOSE ISSUES.
WE HEARD ABOUT PEOPLE BEING HELD IN JAIL LONGER THAN THEY NEEDED TO BE AFTER POSTING BONDS, SOME UP TO FIVE, SIX DAYS THAT THEY SAY.
WAS THERE ANYTHING BEING DONE FOR THOSE WHO WERE HELD LONGER THAN THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN? AND IS THERE REASON SOMEBODY WHO SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN RELEASED WAS RELEASED EARLY CHIEF, LEMME ASK, ASK YOU TO COME UP AND ADDRESS THOSE ISSUES ON BEHALF OF THE SHERIFF.
I'M SORRY, WHAT WAS THE QUESTION? WE HAVE HEARD THAT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN HELD LONGER THAN THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN BOND MAYBE MONDAY OR TUESDAY NOT BEING RELEASED FOUR, FIVE DAYS LATER.
FOR THOSE PEOPLE WHO WERE HELD LONGER THAN THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN, IS THERE ANYTHING BEING DONE FOR THEM? AND ALSO, IS THERE ANY CONCERN REASONABILITY PEOPLE WHO SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN RELEASED OR RELEASED EARLY? UM, WELL, BECAUSE OF THE PROCESS, WE DID HAVE SOME DELAYS, BUT THAT WAS MOSTLY TO ENSURE THAT WE HAVE ACCURACY ON WHO WAS BEING RELEASED.
AND WE DIDN'T RELEASE ANYONE THAT WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO.
SO NOBODY THAT WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE RELEASED.
WHAT, NO, EVERYONE'S BEEN ACCOUNTED FOR, SIR, AS FAR AS PEOPLE WERE HELD LONG, THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN AND UNDERSTAND TO TRY TO TAKE PRECAUTIONS.
BUT THE PEOPLE WHO LOST PRECIOUS TIME, IS THERE ANYTHING THAT'S GONNA BE DONE FOR PREVENT
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? FROM AN IT PERSPECTIVE, WHAT WAS THE ROLLOUT BRAND, THE TOOLS THAT WERE ALREADY IMPLEMENTED OR WHAT? NO, WE COULDN'T DO THAT BECAUSE OF THE DIFFERENT TECHNOLOGIES.
SO THE PLAN WAS, UM, AND THIS HAS BEEN IN PLACE FOR YEARS TO, AND THIS IS TYLER'S APPROACH WITH, UM, WITH EVERY IMPLEMENTATION.
AGAIN, TYLER IS THE LARGEST JUSTICE SYSTEM VENDOR IN THE WORLD.
UM, THEY HANDLE ABOUT 40% OF THE JUSTICE SYSTEM IN THE UNITED STATES GOES THROUGH ONE OF TYLER'S SYSTEMS, RIGHT? SO THEY HAVE A LOT OF EXPERIENCE DOING THIS.
SO IN ORDER TO MIGRATE ALL OF OUR DATA, WE MIGRATED 40 YEARS WORTH OF DATA FROM OUR OLD SYSTEM TO THE NEW SYSTEM BECAUSE WE NEED TO MOVE OFF OF OUR OLD SYSTEM.
THE IDEA WAS, OR NOT THE IDEA, THE PLAN ROLLOUT PLAN WAS TO TAKE THE SYSTEM DOWN ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT AT 7:00 PM AND THEN COME BACK ONLINE AT ON SUNDAY AS A SOFT GO LIVE, NOT A FULL GO LIVE TO START DOING SOME OF THE DATA ENTRY AND TESTING THE SYSTEM AND THEN ON MONDAY FOR ALL USERS IN THE COUNTY, UH, TO BE ON THAT SYSTEM.
THE PLAN DURING THE, UH, TIME WHERE WE TOOK THE SYSTEM DOWN UNTIL SUNDAY, THE PLAN WAS FOR OFFICES AND DEPARTMENTS TO FALL DOWN, FALL BACK ON THEIR DOWNTIME PROCEDURES, TO DO STUFF MANUALLY.
UM, AND THEN THEY WOULD NEED THE DATA, ENTER THAT STUFF INTO THE NEW SYSTEM.
WE HAVE NO WAY OF RUNNING IN PARALLEL AND ENSURING THE INTEGRITY OF THE DATA BY MIGRATING THE DATA FROM THE OLD SYSTEM TO THE NEW SYSTEM.
SO THE ONLY WAY TO GET IT DONE WAS TO DO THAT.
IT TOOK ABOUT THREE DAYS TO MIGRATE ALL OF THE DATA FROM THE OLD SYSTEM TO THE NEW, TO THE NEW SYSTEM.
SO THE, THE PLAN WAS FOR THAT.
NOW, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, UM, YOU'VE GOT FIVE DAYS WORTH OF DATA THAT NEEDS TO BE IN, OR FOUR DAYS OR FIVE DAYS WORTH OF DOWNTIME DATA THAT NEEDS TO BE ENTERED INTO THE SYSTEM.
THE EXPECTATION WAS NEVER THAT IT WOULD ALL BE, UH, IMPLEMENTED OR ADDED TO THE NEW SYSTEM ON SUNDAY, THAT IT WAS GONNA HAPPEN THROUGHOUT THIS WEEK.
SO A LOT OF OFFICES AND DEPARTMENTS ARE STILL PUTTING THAT DATA INTO THE SYSTEM, WHICH IS WHY YOU'LL SEE SOME GAPS IN SOME OF THE REPORTING AND MAYBE IN THE PORTAL WITH REGARDS TO WHAT HAPPENED FROM WEDNESDAY NIGHT AT 7:00 PM UNTIL SUNDAY WHEN WE STARTED USING THE NEW SYSTEM AT 4:00 PM.
SO AS THAT DATA GETS ENTERED, YOU'LL START TO GET A MORE HOLISTIC PICTURE OF EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED.
AGAIN, WE CAN ONLY REPORT ON WHAT'S PUT IN THE SYSTEM, BUT THAT WAS THE PLAN.
SO IN SELECTING THIS, UH, PARTICULAR VENDOR WAS COUNTY AWARE OF ISSUES OTHER COUNTIES ACROSS TEXAS HAVE EXPERIENCED.
SO WE SELECTED THIS VENDOR AND I JUST SAY THAT WE'VE SELECTED THAT VENDOR, UM, I BELIEVE IN 2018, CONTRACTED WITH A VENDOR IN 2019.
WE WENT THROUGH A COMPETITIVE PROCUREMENT PROCESS.
UM, WE ASSESSED ALL PROPOSALS, WE DID OUR REFERENCE CHECKS, UM,
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AND WE FELT COMFORTABLE UNANIMOUSLY, IT WAS A UNANIMOUS DECISION FROM ALL OF THE ELECTED OFFICIALS THAT, THAT SUPPORT THE OFFICES AND APARTMENTS AT THE TIME, FROM THE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE CRIMINAL, UM, DISTRICT COURTS AS WELL AS THE COUNTY COURTS AT LAW AND JUVENILE PROBATION.ALL OF THOSE ELECTED OFFICIALS UNANIMOUSLY SELECTED AND RECOMMENDED TYLER TECHNOLOGIES TO THE COURT.
THE COURT COMMISSIONER'S COURT, IN FACT AT THE TIME, WAS NOT GONNA APPROVE THIS UNLESS IT WAS UNANIMOUS SELECTION.
SO YES, WE DID OUR DUE DILIGENCE, WE DID OUR REFERENCE CHECKS, BUT AGAIN, WE SELECTED THAT VENDOR IN 2018.
SO UP UNTIL THE INFORMATION THAT WE HAD AT THAT TIME, UM, I'M CERTAIN THAT WE DID OUR DUE DILIGENCE.
AGAIN, LIKE I SAID, UH, THEY WERE THE ONLY QUALIFIED VENDOR THAT WE FELT WAS, UM, POSITIONED TO BE ABLE TO SUPPORT THE COUNTY.
THEY SUPPORT THE 22 OR THEY HAVE THEIR SYSTEMS IN 22 OF THE LARGEST COUNTIES IN TEXAS IN 80, OVER 80 COUNTIES IN TEXAS.
THEY HAVE 14 STATEWIDE CONTRACTS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES.
THEY'RE IN LA COUNTY, THEY'RE IN ATLANTA.
UM, SO THEY HAVE ALL OF THE MAJOR COUNTIES, UM, IN THE COUNTRY AS, AS THEIR, UM, AS THEIR CUSTOMERS, RIGHT? SO WE FELT REALLY COMFORTABLE WITH THAT BASED ON ALL OUR, A LOT OF REFERENCE CHECKS WE DID NEWS IS NEWS STORIES OR STORIES, WHAT WE ACTUALLY FOLLOWED UP INDIVIDUALLY WITH THOSE OFFICES AND APARTMENTS IN THOSE VARIOUS COUNTIES AS REFERENCE CHECKS.
SO WE HAD CONVERSATION THAT PREVENTATIVE MEASURES TO BE TAKEN TO PREVENT SOMETHING LIKE THIS.
BECAUSE YOU SAID, YOU KNOW, THERE WERE, THERE ARE, UH, HICCUPS TO, WE HAD, YOU KNOW, WITH SUCH A LARGE SYSTEM TAKING OVER SUCH AN OLD ONE.
BUT WHAT CONVERSATIONS WERE BEING HAD IN THIS, YOU KNOW, THESE MANY YEARS, UP UNTIL THIS WAS PUT OUT A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER.
SO I CAN SAY THIS, THE COUNTY HAS PUT OVER 500,000 HOURS PEOPLE, HOURS ALONE, NOT CONTRACTORS, NOT THE VENDOR, INTO THIS PROJECT SINCE 2019.
DAILY MEETINGS, NUMEROUS MEETINGS.
WE'VE HAD OVER 200, UH, COUNTY EMPLOYEES THAT WERE DEDICATED TO THIS PROJECT OVER THE LAST FOUR AND A HALF YEARS FROM ALL OFFICES AND DEPARTMENTS.
UM, WE HAD SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS IDENTIFIED IN EACH OFFICE AND DEPARTMENT DECISION MAKERS IDENTIFIED AS WELL AS IT AND TYLER.
WE TESTED THE SYSTEM OVER AND OVER AGAIN, DATA MIGRATION.
WE DID 15 ROUNDS OF DATA MIGRATION OVER FOUR AND A HALF YEARS AND TESTED EACH TIME TO REFINE, REFINE, REFINE.
UH, WE HAD NUMEROUS TEST CASES.
WE'VE CREATED OVER 900 BUSINESS PROCESS DOCUMENTS AND QUICK REFERENCE GUIDES THAT SHOW PEOPLE HOW TO USE THE SYSTEM.
WE'VE HAD YEARS, IF NOT YEARS OF TRAINING, UM, FORMAL TRAINING, SIT DOWN TRAINING.
UM, SO YES, WE'VE, WE'VE PREPARED, WE FEEL LIKE WE'VE DONE EVERYTHING THAT WE COULD DO TO PREPARE AND WE'RE CONTINUED TO, UH, TO FOCUS ON THIS.
YOU WERE SAYING THAT WASN'T THE CASE, THAT IF IT WAS EXPUNGED IN THE WHOLE SYSTEM, IT WOULD NOT SHOW UP IN THE SYSTEM.
CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHY? THERE MIGHT HAVE BEEN CONFUSION IN THE STORY THAT WE READ.
I DON'T KNOW ABOUT WHERE THE CONFUSION MAY COME FROM, BUT I CAN SAY THIS EXPUNGED CASES THAT WERE MIGRATED OVER WERE PUT INTO A, A SPECIAL SECURITY GROUP.
THEY CANNOT BE SHOWN, UM, OF THE 13,800 EXPUNGED CASES WE HAD IN THE MAINFRAME, WE ONLY BROUGHT OVER 1,855 OF THEM BECAUSE THEY REQUIRED A FURTHER REVIEW, UM, BEFORE WE CAN COMPLETELY, UM, GET RID OF THE RECORDS, RIGHT? SO, AND WE KNOW THAT THOSE WERE LOCKED DOWN AND THERE WEREN'T ANY OF THOSE.
UH, WELL, I KNOW FROM TYLER'S ANALYSIS THAT NONE OF THAT WAS, WAS ACCESSED.
NOW AGAIN, I CAN'T SPEAK TO A POTENTIAL, UM, NON-FLAG ON THIS.
I'M SPEAKING FROM A TECHNICAL STANDPOINT.
I KNOW THAT FLAGGED EXPUNGED CASES WERE NOT DISPLAYED ON THE PORTAL.
LET, LET, LET ME ASK JUDGE RONELL TO COME FORWARD FROM A COURT PERSPECTIVE, BECAUSE I WANT EVERYBODY TO UNDERSTAND THAT WE HAVE MULTIPLE ENTITIES THAT TIE IN LAW ENFORCEMENT, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, ALL THE COURT SYSTEMS, THE ENTIRE COURT SYSTEM.
THIS IS A HUGE UNDERTAKING THAT WE HAVE TAKEN ON IN ORDER FOR US TO GET TO THE STATE OF THE ART UP TO DATE, WHICH WILL MAKE IT MORE USER FRIENDLY, MAKE IT MORE OPEN, MAKE IT MORE TRANSPARENT, MAKE IT SO THAT THE MEDIA CAN HAVE MEANINGFUL ACCESS THAN TRYING TO WORK OUR, UH, DATA SYSTEM.
BUT JUDGE REELL IN REGARDS TO EXP FUNCTIONS, WHICH IS A SENSITIVE ISSUE, WOULD YOU PLEASE GIVE THE COURT'S PERSPECTIVE ON THIS? YES, IT'S A VERY GOOD QUESTION AND IT'S A VERY IMPORTANT ONE, RIGHT? 'CAUSE OBVIOUSLY IF A CASE HAS BEEN EXPUNGED, THAT MEANS AN INDIVIDUAL HAS A RIGHT TO SAY THAT THEY'VE NEVER EVEN BEEN ARRESTED.
ALL RECORDS OF THAT EXPUNCTION THEN SHOULD BE DESTROYED.
ALL RECORDS INVOLVING AN ARREST, THERE'S AT LEAST 15, 16 DIFFERENT AGENCIES IN, IN THE COUNTY.
WHEN SOMEBODY GETS ARRESTED, THEY GET REPORTED, UH, THAT INCIDENT OF ARREST.
SO WHEN SOMEBODY GOES THROUGH AN EXPUNCTION PROCESS, THEY GO BEFORE A DISTRICT COURT, THE COURT SIGNS AN ORDER.
NOW, SUBSEQUENT TO THAT, IT TAKES AT LEAST 120 DAYS FOR THAT PROCESS THEN TO GO THROUGH, FOR A RECORD TO BE FULLY EXPUNGED IN ALL THE DIFFERENT AGENCIES THAT CARRY THIS PARTICULAR RECORD.
THINK OF DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY, THINK OF THE, UH, UH, DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, THE CLERK'S OFFICE, ALL SORTS OF FBI.
SO YOU GOT FEDERAL, YOU GOT STATE AND
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LOCAL AGENCIES THAT CARRY THESE RECORDS OF THESE ARRESTS.SO ONCE THEY RECEIVE THAT PARTICULAR ORDER, IT TAKES THEM A PROCESS TO, TO DESTROY THESE RECORDS.
WE, WITHIN THE DISTRICT COURT'S OFFICE, OUR DISTRICT COURT ADMINISTRATION DID AN EVALUATION OF ALL THOSE THAT HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED AS POTENTIALLY BEING EXPUNGED.
TURNED OUT THAT THAT PROCESS HAD NOT FULLY BEEN COMPLETED.
SO WHAT THE TRANSITION DID WHEN WE WENT OVER TO TYLER ODYSSEY IS IT BASICALLY JUST EXPOSED THE RAW DATA.
IT WASN'T AS IF TYLER THEN PULLED SOME EXPUNGED RECORD, BROUGHT IT FORWARD TO THE PUBLIC THEN SO THAT IT COULD BE FOUND.
IT'S BASICALLY A PROCESS THAT TAKES A LITTLE BIT OF TIME, MORE TIME THAN WHAT I THINK THE ATTORNEYS ANTICIPATED.
AND AS A RESULT OF THAT, THAT FULL FINAL EXPUNCTION HAD NOT TAKEN PLACE ON THOSE THAT HAD BEEN REPORTED BY THE MEDIA.
UH, WITH REGARD TO THAT, I HAVE AN EXAMPLE OF A CASE THAT WAS BEYOND THE 20 DAYS, AND THEN EVEN BEYOND THE 30 DAYS FROM WHEN YOU GOT THE EXP SO THAT THAT WAS STILL ON THE WEBSITE.
HOW DOES SOMETHING LIKE THAT? UH, I DON'T KNOW WHAT SPECIFIC CASE YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT.
I DO KNOW THAT THERE WERE SOME CASES THAT WERE REPORTED ON, OR MAYBE THE ATTORNEY DIDN'T DO THE FINAL PART OF THAT PROCESS, OR MAYBE THAT PARTICULAR DOCUMENT HAD NOT BEEN THE, THE RECORD OF EXPUNCTION HAD NOT BEEN SENT OVER TO ALL OF THE AGENCIES YET.
BUT IT WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS IN PROCESS.
WE DIDN'T FIND ANYTHING THAT HAD BEEN STOPPED.
WE DID NOT VERIFY ANYTHING THAT BASICALLY HAD FULLY BEEN EXPUNGED, GONE THROUGH THE ENTIRE PROCESS OF HAVING RECORDS DESTROYED AND STILL BEING REPORTED.
UM, AND, AND TWO PART QUESTION REALLY.
UH, I KNOW THAT, THAT THEY HAD 13,000 CASES IDENTIFIED 15, BUT SHOULD ALL THE DATA HAVE BEEN DESTROYED, IF THEY WERE SUBJECT TO EXPS, WHY, WHY, WHY YOU TEXT? SO, UH, I CAN'T SPEAK TO THE TECHNOLOGY OF THAT.
I, I'M GONNA PASS THAT OVER TO MR. GAUGER.
LET, LET ME, LET ME HANDLE THAT FROM THE CIVIL SIDE.
BECAUSE THE CIVIL DISTRICT COURTS HANDLE THE EXPUNCTION FILED THROUGH THE CIVIL DISTRICT COURTS, I THINK THE LAW HAS BEEN AMENDED TO REQUIRE MANY OF THE CRIMINAL CASES TO GO BACK TO THE COURTS OF ORIGINAL JURISDICTION.
I WILL TELL YOU THAT SOMETIMES THOSE ORDERS FI, WHAT WE CALL FINAL ORDERS, ARE NOT PREPARED AT THE DATE THAT THE COURT HAS GIVEN A RULING.
THERE ARE TIMES THAT PEOPLE FORGET TO BRING THOSE ORDERS.
THOSE ORDERS SIT OCCASIONALLY.
THE DISTRICT CLERK MAY TAKE TIME TO PROCESS THOSE ORDERS.
ANOTHER DYNAMIC IS THAT PEOPLE HAVE A RIGHT TO APPEAL THOSE EXPUNCTION ORDERS, ESPECIALLY THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY.
THE OTHER LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES, THEY'RE VERY STRICT IN THE GRANTING OF EXPUNCTION.
AND IF THERE IS NOT CLEAR ENTITLEMENT OF AN EXPUNCTION, THOSE CASES THEN GET REVERSED AND WE HAVE TO REDO IT.
SO, AS I UNDERSTAND IT FROM MY BCIT, WE CAN'T JUST PURGE WHEN THE COURT RULES.
WE HAVE TO ALLOW ORDERS TO BE SIGNED, ORDERS TO BE PROCESSED.
WE MUST LET APPEAL PROCESSES, PROCESS AND BE COMPLETED.
SO I HOPE PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THAT IN OUR JUSTICE SYSTEM, SOMETIMES JUSTICE DOESN'T ALWAYS GO AS FAST AS WHAT PEOPLE WANT IT TO BE.
BUT AT THE SAME TIME, I AS A JUDGE COMMITTED TO THE RULE OF LAW, WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE DO OUR VERY BEST, THAT WE DON'T MAKE MISTAKES.
AND THAT'S THE REASON WHY I BEG THE PUBLIC'S PATIENCE IN THIS PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCE THAT WE'RE TRYING TO GET IT RIGHT.
I APOLOGIZE FOR THOSE INDIVIDUALS THAT HAVE BEEN AFFECTED UNNECESSARILY WITH EXTENDED JAIL DAYS OR JAIL STAYS, SO TO SPEAK.
SO AT THIS TIME, I'M GONNA CLOSE THE PRESS CONFERENCE.
OBVIOUSLY EVERYBODY IN THE ROOM WHO IS HERE HAS THE, UH, OPPORTUNITY TO TALK TO THE PRESS OR PRESS.
Y'ALL CAN TALK TO WHOEVER YOU WISH.