Judicial branch reports statewide Odyssey rollout, new self‑help site and AI committee; plans CANWIN network work with Gartner

The Joint Committee on Information Technology heard a detailed update from Alex Wong, newly appointed chief information technology officer for the Kansas Judicial Branch.

Wong told the panel the branch completed a statewide roll-out of the Tyler Odyssey case‑management system in late 2024, putting all districts on the same platform. He said standardizing on a single case-management vendor improves data consistency, security and maintenance, and will simplify future upgrades. The branch is now planning an upgrade to a currently supported Odyssey version.

Public-facing services and a new self-help site Judicial IT staff described three public-facing services: (1) the electronic filing (e-filing) service for attorneys; (2) a litigant portal for self‑represented parties; and (3) a public access portal for case searches. Sarah Hoskinson, who led the self-help project, demonstrated self-help.kscourts.gov, a new site intended for people who lack attorneys. The site lists county self-help centers, filing fees, links for protection‑order filing and videos explaining court procedures; 32 counties already host physical self‑help centers and the website provides county‑level detail and QR referral cards.

CANWIN network, state-owned hardware planning Wong said the branch is preparing a plan to provide state‑owned workstations and network connections and to integrate judicial hardware onto the CANWIN statewide network to meet statutory requirements referenced under SB 291. The branch selected Gartner as a consultant to craft a plan, in part because Gartner already works with the executive branch and can help map options for rural counties that are not currently on CANWIN. Wong said some county courthouses are on county-owned networks and that connecting remote counties to CANWIN will require technical and financial choices to be considered in the Gartner planning work.

Cybersecurity and compliance The branch said it intends to retain established risk‑review processes (they will continue using Aikido project review practices) and that some policies and reporting that had been centralized will shift to branch-specific reporting because of SB 291’s governance changes. The branch also said it has moved its Zoom services into the federal government–grade Zoom for Government and has migrated many judicial sites and email to .gov addresses.

AI committee and governance Wong described an AI committee launched by an administrative order of the Chief Justice. The 21‑member group includes judges, court reporters, administrators and IT staff; it will recommend policy and procedures on internal and external uses of generative AI, including guidance on admissibility, use in filings and internal drafting/research. Wong said the committee expects to deliver recommendations by year‑end and is coordinating with executive branch AI efforts.

Ending: The Judicial Branch asked the committee for time to provide Gartner’s CANWIN/hardware plan and said it will share further details on remaining upgrade work and cybersecurity audits as parts of the SB 291 implementation process.