New NC court records system is violating people’s constitutional rights, lawsuit says
A new state court records management system has violated people’s rights by delaying their release from jail and causing others to be arrested multiple times on the same warrant, a new lawsuit claims.
The complaint asks that a federal judge bar Wake and Lee county sheriffs from using the system which state officials rolled out in February in four counties as a pilot.
The suit, which estimates damages to exceed $5 million, is a proposed class action claim that could likely draw hundreds of affected people across the state, the lawsuit states
The named plaintiffs include a Triangle and Lee County resident. One was arrested twice on the same warrant, the lawsuit contends. The other’s release from jail was wrongly delayed 14 days.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs say they are aware of more people harmed by failures by the system.
“We expect to hear from many more people now that this complaint is on file,” said Zach Ezor, one of the attorneys from the Tin Fulton law firm that represents the plaintiffs.
Such problems with the new system and other issues were foreseeable, the lawsuit claims, since vendor Tyler Technologies has faced significant challenges during previous software rollouts in Texas, California, Tennessee and Indiana. The Texas-based company was awarded a $100 million contract over 10 years to implement the new North Carolina court software system.
In an interview in February, Andrew Heath, director of the North Carolina Administrative Office of Courts, asked people to give the system six months, saying there is no easy way to go through such a big transition without challenges.
A human toll
Triangle resident Timia Chaplin was charged in November with aiding and abetting impaired driving, a misdemeanor, and failed to appear in court on those charges in December, according to the lawsuit and court documents.
In March, police arrested her for failure to appear and released on a bond, the lawsuit states. Her charges were dismissed later that month.
However, on April 9, Chaplin was arrested again on those charges, the lawsuit states.
During an unrelated traffic stop later in April, an officer informed her that the warrant was still active.
Paulino Castellanos was arrested on Feb. 10 and charged with indecent liberties with a child under the age of 16 and attempted first degree sex offense, according to court documents. The alleged incident occurred between 2011 and 2017, according to the limited court documents accessible in the eCourts portal.
Other court documents appeared available in the online eCourts system, but when a reporter clicked on them, the items attempted to load for several minutes until an error message popped up.
Castellanos was unable to pay the bond for his case, and his attorney started to work for his release immediately, according to the lawsuit. Castellanos has severe arthritis, which often limits his movement and confines him to a wheelchair, the lawsuit states.
But Lee County officials, who had begun digitizing case files for the Feb. 13 transition to eCourts, couldn’t find Castellanos’ case in the system.
On Feb. 15, the court unsecured Castellanos’ bond and allowed him to be released on electronic monitoring. However, he wasn’t released until Feb. 23 because no device was available, the lawsuit states.
Over the 14 days Castellanos was in jail, he was confined to his cell 23 hours a day, the lawsuit states. His arthritis made it nearly impossible for Castellanos to do basic tasks, like walk from his bed to the cell door to get his meals.
A failed upgrade?
On Feb. 13 the North Carolina Judicial Branch moved to digitize the state court system through eCourts pilots in Wake, Johnson, Lee and Harnett counties. ECourts is a package of software applications that allows electronic filing as well as allows the public access records online and pay court fees.
The transition hasn’t gone smoothly, with court officials and attorneys complaining about system slow down and breakdowns on multiple levels. Mecklenburg County was expected to roll out their eCourts around May, with additional county clusters expected to follow every 60 to 90 days until all courts are using the new system by 2025.
However, due to the challenges in pilot counties, the roll out has been delayed indefinitely.
In an interview earlier this month, Wake District Attorney Lorrin Freeman, described the transition as a “bumpy ride.”
“I think that it would be safe to say there is growing concern at this moment that we are not able to move as quickly and efficiently,” as they would like, Freeman said.
Heath said in February that state officials are working through the glitches, including making sure officers were informed about recalled warrants.
Ask any criminal attorney, and they will outline widespread issues, Ezor said.
Ezor said they asked for a pause in the use of the new system in the hopes that there would be a thorough evaluation of eCourts in the pilot counties, as well as spur backup practices to ensure the issues are being addressed.
The lawsuit was filed against Wake Sheriff Willie Rowe, Lee Sheriff Brian Estes, the sheriffs’ insurers, and Tyler Technologies. A judge will decide whether the case meets the requirements to certify the case as class action.
Virginia Bridges covers criminal justice in the Triangle and across North Carolina for The News & Observer. Her work is produced with financial support from the nonprofit The Just Trust. The N&O maintains full editorial control of its journalism.
