The
Superior Court of Delaware is now using technology to streamline
criminal justice. The Court, in cooperation with the Administrative
Office of the Courts, has implemented a GUI Windows-based
Automated
Sentencing Program (ASOP).
On March 27, 2000, ASOP went into full statewide production. The
implementation stage began in Delaware's Kent and Sussex Counties
and became statewide with the addition of the New Castle County
Superior Court in January 2000.
The ASOP application enables the court to issue sentencing orders
almost simultaneously with a judge's pronouncement. Previously
it would take days to disseminate the information to all criminal
justice agencies. Sentencing data is electronically filed and
transferred within minutes to prisons and other agencies. Defendants
receive a complete copy of their sentencing order in the courtroom.
Criminal histories also are updated for future court proceedings.
The results are impressive. Updated realtime criminal records
are available for the judge, at the bench. With the click of a
button, the judge can view the criminal history of the defendant.
The criminal history record allows the judge to view detailed
information about any outstanding capias (flagged in red), failure
to pay in any court, or failure to appear in any court.
In addition, prison authorities will receive the order electronically
before the defendant even arrives for incarceration. Likewise,
the Probation and Parole Department will now have an order on
file in advance of a defendant showing up to begin probation.
Another benefit is putting updated information into the hands
of police officers on patrol.
