LILLINGTON, N.C. (WNCN) — In light of the recent issues with its new computer software system, Harnett County will not be holding district court for the week of March 27.
The administrative order was signed off on by Chief District Court Judge J. Frank Wood on Thursday, March 16. The Harnett County Clerk of Court’s Office told CBS 17 the delay in cases is due to the issues with the new eCourt system and to “assist with staff workload.”
According to the order, the following sessions of Harnett County District Court are canceled:
3/27/2023 – Criminal
3/28/2023 – Probable Cause
3/30/2023 – Criminal and Peoples
3/31/2023 – Probabation Violation and Criminal
First appearances will be held Monday, Wednesday and Friday only, the order further stated.
eCourts pilot launched on February 13 in Harnett, Wake, Lee and Johnston Counties. Once the system is deemed ready, all of North Carolina’s court systems will make the switch over. The total change over, including Odyssey and eWarrants, comes at a cost of more than $100 million.
Before a statewide launch, another pilot program was scheduled to launch in Mecklenburg County in May. CBS 17 has learned that program has been delayed due to these issues.
CBS 17 has extensively reported problems with the launch including delayed DWI hearings, incorrect court fees, people who remained in jail after posting bond or their charges were dropped, and delayed child protective and domestic hearings. Attorneys have also complained that they often can’t access their own cases via eCourts.
Tyler Technologies has had similar issues, some of which have led to litigation, in other states. Tyler Technologies has referred all media inquiries to the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts.
In a statement, the NC Administrative Office of the Courts said:
“With the partnership of committed local Judicial Branch leaders in Wake, Harnett, Johnston, and Lee, we continue to make progress in our implementation of eCourts. We are focused on providing support to end users and working with Tyler to resolve defects that have arisen since go-live. While we are glad that more than half the issues that have arisen have already been closed/resolved, important other issues remain.
Since we want to rollout a version in Mecklenburg that is improved from the version that our Pilot Counties are currently using, we need to take additional weeks working with Tyler to resolve key defects. A target go-live date for Mecklenburg County will be provided once it is established.”
