Michigan judicial branch asks for $7.2 million in ongoing funds to sustain statewide case management system

Michigan’s chief justice told the House appropriations subcommittee that the statewide court case management system (CMS) requires $7.2 million in ongoing funding so the system can be staffed and supported as more trial courts come online.

The request was presented during a subcommittee budget hearing where the chief justice described the CMS as “the biggest and most important technology project” across Michigan’s judicial branch and asked for sustained operating dollars after a 2022 one‑time appropriation funded the initial build‑out.

Why it matters: the CMS is intended to link trial courts across Michigan to improve data collection, reduce duplicate local costs, expand online court services and allow interoperability with law‑enforcement and other justice partners. Committee members pressed SCAO officials on migration challenges and staffing plans; a member of the public raised concerns about how the system assigns cases.

Background and funding history

Committee testimony said the Legislature provided $150,000,000 in one‑time funds in 2022 to build the statewide infrastructure and that SCAO sought $38,000,000 in ongoing funds in that budget cycle but did not receive it. The chief justice told the committee that SCAO has obligated about $65,000,000 of the one‑time appropriation and has about $85,000,000 remaining to complete onboarding of the largest, most complex courts.

“Once we have covered the statewide CMS project, then I want to go back and highlight several other important proposals but I want to focus on this first because the statewide case management system is so important,” the chief justice said during opening…