Louisiana Public Defender Board

Case Management System TrainingMay, 2012

Why?

•Measuring WorkloadAccurate counts of cases and activities allows managers to advocate for funding.

•Representing ClientsAccurate information helps attorneys provide the best defense possible

Agenda

•Case Types•Status Codes•Charge Dispositions•Case Results•Dates•Feedback: Questions and Suggestions

Case Type

Case Type

Capital• If you receive a case that could be charged as a capital case, and the

State has not yet declared whether it seeks the death penalty, or if it has decided to do so, select Capital as the Case Type.

• If the state later decides that it is not seeking the death penalty, continue to use Capital as the Case Type.

• When formal notice is received whether or not to seek the death penalty, enter the appropriate Event:

Capital: Notice of Death Sought or Capital: Notice of Death Declined

Case Type

Felony - LWOP

This Case Type is to be used only for specific charges where LWOP is a potential sentence. Use this case type even if the State indicates that it is not seeking Life Without Parole, as long as it a potential sentence for one of the indicted charges

Case Type

Revocation(Probation or Parole)

• Revocation should be selected only where the office did not handle the original case. Otherwise, the case should be reopened and an additional charge of Revocation should be added on the Charges tab.

• If the Revocation proceeding is a result of a new case to which the office is appointed, then that case type should be selected for the new case, and a Revocation should be added on the Charges tab for that case.

• Charges to enter: Probation: Parole:

Case Type

OtherIf you need to use Other as a Case Type, then

we’re missing a Case Type.

Let us know what the situation is, and we’ll try to address the matter.

Status

Status

Diversion / Informal Adjustment

• The defendant has entered a diversion program, with the understanding that charges will be dismissed at the conclusion of the diversion program.

• Select this Code under Status, and also as a Case Result

• Once Diversion is completed, change this to Closed and enter the Date.

Status

Dormant

• If a case has been idle for an extended period, the case status will be changed to Dormant.

• To make the case active again, change the status to the appropriate value

Status

Post-Disposition

• For Juvenile Cases only (currently Rv-Pending)

• We want to be sure that Juvenile Cases are not Closed after a dispositional hearing, to reflect the fact that periodic reviews continue to be held in these matters

Charges

Incident Date•Essential for accurate case counts“In the event that a charging instrument contains a charge or set of charges arising out of multiple events, transactions, or occurrences, indigent defender boards shall track, record, and report the number of such instances per charging instrument.”

Charge at Indictment/Petition• Basis for Case Type• For Family cases, each child should be entered as a

separate item, since each may receive a separate disposition

Set Aside• To be checked when the case is disposed of by deferred

disposition, specialty court, or informal adjustment.

Dominant Charge• The most serious charge ever indicted. If a more serious charge is

added after indictment, it should be marked as the dominant charge

• Indictments may not list charges in order of seriousness, so the dominant charge is not necessarily the first charge.

Disposition• This is the disposition of the CHARGE, not the CASE. Each charge

should be disposed of or set aside before the case is closed.

• Family cases should indicate the disposition for each child subject to the petition.

• Next update will filter the available choices based on Case Type

Charges

Charge at Arrest:•As it appears on the police report•May or may not be accurate

Charge at Disposition• If dismissed, same as charge at Indictment

Result

Result

• Result = Outcome of a CASE

• Disposition = Outcome of a CHARGE

Result

•Results will be filtered based on Case Type

•Trial Type will be eliminatedPlea codes and Trial type codes will be consolidated

•Some new codes:Transfer to Adult CourtTransfer to Other DistrictMultiple Dispositions (for CINC cases)

IMPORTANT: A plea to one charge, as charged, in exchange for the dismissal of other charges, is a Plea - Lesser.

Result

Diversion / Informal Adjustment

• The defendant has entered a diversion program, with the understanding that charges will be dismissed at the conclusion of the diversion program.

• If the defendant fails to complete such program successfully, change this Result Code to the final result, and make an entry in the Events tab to reflect that the client failed to complete the diversion program.

Result

Incompetent-Unrestorable• The defendant has been found to be

incompetent to stand trial, and there is little likelihood that competency could be restored within a reasonable time period.

• If the defendant is ruled incompetent to stand trial, but is subject to restoration for trial purposes, make no entry in the Result field, and change the Case Status to Incompetent.

Result

Continue w/o Date

• The case is adjourned without a date given to reappear.

• Set the Case Status to Continue w/o Date if additional involvement is anticipated, or to Closed. If the case returns to court, reopen the case, and enter the new Result when the case concludes.

Result

Juvenile CINC-Child and Parent

• A Result Code is to be entered at the conclusion of the dispositional hearing.

• These results may change over time as the case progresses.

• After the initial dispositional hearing, the Case Status should be set to Post-Disposition (currently Rv-Pending).

• CINC cases do not result in Termination. When Termination is sought, copy the case and select Termination as the Case Type.

Result

Multiple DispositionsWhen there are different dispositions for multiple children on a CINC case, use this Result Code, and enter each specific disposition of the Charges tab.

DATES

• Received DateWhen your office received the case, not he date the attorney was assigned

• Closed DateWhen the attorney closed the file, not the data entry date

• Incident DateThe date the crime occurred. For Bad Checks, use the indictment date, not the date of each bad check. If unknown, use the arrest date.

Dates

• Bad DatesThere are a lot of inaccurate dates in the system. Please make corrections when you find them.

Changes to Status dates should be made on the Status Log page

Dates

Click on the Status Log TabSelect the Date to Change and type the correction, or

Right-Click for the Date Selector

Problems, Questions, or Suggestions?

yankee.defenderdata.com/tracker/

ordnewhouse@dnewhouse.com

What is a Case?§R.S. 15:174.C• For purposes of this Section, a "case" is defined as a charge or set of

charges contained in a charging instrument or petition against a single accused arising out of one or more events, transactions, or occurrences, which are joined, or which may be joined pursuant to Code of Criminal Procedure Articles 490 through 495.1.

• Cases that involve multiple persons accused are counted as a separate case for each person accused.

• Cases that involve multiple charges or counts are recorded with the highest charge, based on the severity of sentence for the crime charged, as the case type. Multiple charges against a single person for the issuing of worthless checks shall be counted as a single case.

• Each appeal, after conviction, shall be counted as a separate case. • In the event that a charging instrument contains a charge or set of charges

arising out of multiple events, transactions, or occurrences, indigent defender boards shall track, record, and report the number of such instances per charging instrument.