TRAVIS COUNTY APPOINTMENTMANAGEMENT SYSTEM

(TCAMS)

Attorney Overview / Training SessionNovember 17th, 2005

What is TCAMS?

TCAMS is an Internet application that providescourt appointed attorneys access to:

View and manage appointments View posted announcements / warnings View and edit personal profile information View current docket and cause information

TCAMS enables attorneys to obtain and manageinformation related to their indigent defense dutiesin a convenient, time-saving way:

Accessible from any Internet access point (office, home, courthouse, restaurants, etc.)

Accessible on any day, at any time. Provides real-time access to information that is

otherwise unavailable electronically (e.g. jail custody status / location)

TCAMS allows Criminal Courts Administration staffto recover time previously spent on manual tasks:

Attorneys input contact information (eliminating the need for staff to input information from faxes)

Attorneys manage and update their own personal profile information

Attorneys have access to more real-time information (reducing phone calls to court staff)

Integration

TCAMS is integrated with and dependent upon other Travis County systems:

Travis County Indigent Defense Application (TCIDA) Court appointment information Previous charges Special needs (Spanish speaking, deaf interpreter) Appointment notes from appointing judicial aide Ability to view personal profile information and update

unrestricted portions of the profile

Integration

Tiburon Interagency Database (IDB) Jail custody status Jail housing information (site, building, floor, unit) Mental health status (as determined by Sheriff’s Office medical

staff)

Tiburon Case Management System (FACTS) Docket setting information (date, time, court, causes, offense

descriptions, bond information) Indictment status

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does TCAMS require me to provide face-to-face contact information?

TCAMS was designed to ensure compliance with the standards andprocedures set forth by the Travis County Criminal Courts as part of

theFair Defense Act Program.

Those standards and procedures require appointed attorneys to make contact – in person or by videoconferencing – no later than five days ofthe assignment for misdemeanor appointments and no later than ten days of the assignment for felony appointments.

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Why are Misdemeanor docket settings not shown?

Travis County is in the process of moving to a new casemanagement system for its court records. Currently, only the district system is on-line and so only felony docket settings are available. Once the county system isimplemented, misdemeanor docket settings will also be available in TCAMS.

What is the difference between the two TCAMS websites?

http://tcams.co.travis.tx.usThis is the link to the actual TCAMS application. It requires an account ID and password to login. (NOTE: Do not use www. in front of the address.)

http://www.co.travis.tx.us/tcamsThis is the informational website dedicated to the TCAMS project and application. This site contains Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS).

How do I obtain a TCAMS account?

To request an account, send an e-mail with the following information to:tcamshelp@co.travis.tx.us

Attorney’s Name Attorney’s State Bar Number Request for account

NOTE: For security purposes, the e-mail request must originate fromthe e-mail account on-file with Criminal Courts Administration.

Additional Information and Questions:

Additional information is available on-line at:http://www.co.travis.tx.us/tcams

Questions? E-mail questions or comments to:

tcamshelp@co.travis.tx.us

Application Screen Shots

After logging into TCAMS, an attorney is presented with any important messages as well as a list of alerts for appointments where the attorney has failed to provide contact information.

Within TCAMS, attorneys are presented current appointments that require their attention. Attorneys are provided deadline information based on the approved guideline rules.

An attorney is able to view detailed information for each appointment.

All information that is currently faxed to an attorney is provided within TCAMS.

Additional information, such as jail custody and housing location, is provided as well.

Attorneys are informed that contact information is required for an appointment. An easy-to-use dialog box is presented that allows the attorney to input the contact date, time of contact and method of contact. In turn, the information is electronically stored in a database and available for retrieval.

Attorneys do not have to fax back the contact information and CCA judicial aides do not have to manually input the contact information for each appointment.

Attorneys are able to perform detailed searches of their appointments.

Attorneys are able to view and search their docket settings. Currently, this information is limited to felony cases. Once FACTS is live for the county courts, misdemeanor docket settings will be available as well.

For each docket setting, the attorney is able to view detailed information.