NEWS RELEASE

Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts

Last Links in Judiciary's Data Communications Network Complete.
Nationwide Network Now Connects All Federal Courts.

With the addition of the final court sites this month, the federal Judiciary has completed a nationwide internal data communications network (DCN) for all Judiciary employees. The DCN was seven years in the making¾and was completed one year ahead of the projected completion date. It connects approximately 700 federal court sites across the country and more than 28,000 Judiciary employees, who now may send electronic messages, files, and information to a single person or an entire group of people over a private network, in the same building, or across the country.

"I've watched the DCN grow over the years with the expectation that its full implementation would benefit the Judiciary in many ways, and we are discovering more benefits than we even anticipated," said Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts Director Leonidas Ralph Mecham. "The DCN gives the federal courts the electronic highway it needs to support its responsibilities in the administration of justice."

The DCN has grown steadily since January 1994 when just 17 percent of the court locations were connected to the network. As the DCN proved its usefulness, and at the recommendation of the Judicial Conference Committee on Automation and Technology, the Judicial Conference Executive Committee approved funds to accelerate implementation of the DCN. All major court and divisional locations now are linked by the data communications network.

The courts and the Administrative Office use the DCN to draft and produce final documents for everything from court opinions to policy recommendations by Judicial Conference committee members.

The DCN also provides an infrastructure for the J-Net, the Judiciary's intranet website. The site is visited over 2,000 times daily by Judiciary employees looking for reports, statistics, newsletters, directories, manuals and other documents.

The Judiciary capitalizes on the DCN's nationwide reach to conduct surveys, data collection, group discussion forums, and opportunities for long distance instruction. The DCN also supports current and soon-to-be implemented national systems for budgeting, accounting, human resources, jury management and lawbook acquisition. "These new systems will rely on the DCN to share data among the courts," said Pamela B. White, assistant director of the AO's Office of Information Technology, "and courts are using the DCN as a necessary component as they develop their own local technology applications for document imaging and other administrative functions."

The DCN also lets the Judiciary consolidate software. Communications devices, such as modems, may be shared as well as network versions of software, eliminating the purchase of individual software licenses for every employee. Using the DCN's electronic mail feature alone would save $30,000 with every 10,000 messages sent in lieu of mailed letters.

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