Status of the Fund

The Idaho Supreme Court’s technology system is primarily supported through the Court Technology Fund (Fund), a dedicated fund established by Idaho Code 1-1623 with 93% of its revenue provided through legislatively established fees imposed in both criminal and civil court cases.

Over the last decade, the Fund’s revenue has significantly decreased due to a general decline in court filings and related fees. To address funding concerns and stabilize the Fund, the Legislature approved $8.4 million in ongoing funding for FY 2025. This included the transfer of 52.75 FTPs into the state general fund and $1.98 million for software licensing fees.

This support has been essential in stabilizing the Fund and replenishing cash reserves needed for future years. In FY 2025, the Fund’s expenditures are budgeted at $6.0 million, a decrease of 31% from prior year actuals. Fund revenue is projected to be $9.1 million, realizing a net cash balance of $3.1 million which will ensure continuity of statewide court technology over the next several years. This is important as the American Relief Plan Act (ARPA) funding expires and certain expenditures are absorbed in the Fund.

Benefits of Court Technology

Programs and projects through the Court Technology Fund aid with court management, secure and efficient handling of court information, and access to court records.

This funding supports everyday operations at local courts by providing statewide case management systems, digital recordings for official court proceedings, videoconferencing systems, computer equipment, network infrastructure, credit card processing for court fine and fee payments, and information security systems. The Fund supports network connectivity for essential court functions and pays for the computers, printers and other devices used by court staff across the state. The Fund supports the work of hundreds of judges, court clerks, county attorneys, and thousands of users of the online court records system – all constantly working to fulfill the constitutional promises of the third branch of government.

Cybersecurity is of increasing importance to a modern court system. For the first nine months of 2024, software and monitoring services that are supported through the Fund blocked over 584,000 email phishing attempts, 689,000 attempts to breach computers networks, and 4.87 million attempts to breach websites managed by Idaho’s Judicial Branch.

Enhancements

To support cybersecurity, stabilize infrastructure, and to support the Idaho Supreme Court’s constitutional obligation to manage court records, the Judicial Branch is in the midst of transitioning court software and services to one cohesive, cloud-based system statewide. Previous allocations of ARPA funds have helped make possible a project scope that could not have been done through the Court Technology Fund alone.

The Judicial Branch has made good progress on its commitments in this project. In May 2024, court staff migrated Idaho’s electronic case management system from a local data center to a cloud-based solution. This involved successfully transferring data for 13.2 million court, supervisory and attorney cases; 44.5 million documents; 7.3 million hearings; 191.0 million docket entries; and software and profiles for 2,138 users of the system.

Judges, court clerks and other court personnel have begun moving to one consistent Microsoft 365 service for courts across the state. As of November 2024, 66% of court personnel had moved to the new service. At that time, 52% of local courthouses had internet connections installed to enable a statewide computer network for conducting court business. These totals were expected to rise further by January 2025.

ARPA funds earlier allowed the Judicial Branch to hire IT field service technicians in each of Idaho’s seven judicial districts, supporting local county courts in addressing technology issues. The technician program completed its second year in October 2024 and has received strong positive feedback from county clerks, judges and court staff. The feedback supports making the technicians a permanent fixture in local support plans for court services after the ARPA funds end.

Access to court records and court information is improving with the launch of a new iCourt Portal. This is a multi-year, ongoing project. The first stage – to be released in early 2025 – focuses on access for attorneys to records and information in their own cases. Subsequent stages will address access to information for the public and for agencies connected to the justice system.