Commissioners press judges and staff over kiosks, Odyssey reports and large misdemeanor caseloads
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Summary
Commissioner Price and others raised concerns about apparent backlog spikes in certain county criminal courts, questioned kiosk license costs and asked staff to pursue tools and data that better track case settings and judicial performance.
Commissioner John Wiley Price devoted substantial hearing time to judicial performance data, citing Odyssey system reports that showed large increases in pending misdemeanor cases in certain courts and questioning whether judges were using available tools and resources.
Price and other commissioners discussed the county’s contract license for kiosks used to process cases remotely. The presiding judge and IT staff said kiosks are widely used in the jail; IT noted potential savings from reducing judicial licenses but said the major license cost is for kiosks physically located in the jail. Staff estimated modest savings from trimming judicial licenses (about $50,000) but cautioned moving kiosks would add custody and logistics costs.
Commissioners asked about a tool developed in coordination with Tyler and the Office of Court Administration intended to simplify the required 2384 reporting fields; staff said the county now has access and is working to test it for the November 2026 reporting cycle. Price said he would follow up on courts that appear to have large numbers of cases that never had first settings and signaled he may 'pick them up one by one.'
Separately the court discussed judicial salary/back-pay paperwork and pulled a related court order (item 26) for two weeks to allow legal review; item 41 (litigation) was voted on separately and passed with a 3–1 tally recorded.
What’s next: Staff will continue to test the Tyler/OCA reporting tool, follow up on kiosks-license options and report back on caseload questions and the pulled court order.