Cris HeltonEast Ridge City Judge Cris Helton thinks about the woman who stood before him for sentencing, crying, promising she'd never been convicted before.
"I gave her a little time in jail, but not what was deserving under the situation," Helton said.
That's because East Ridge City Court's "antiquated" filing system didn't allow Helton to see the woman's prior convictions in Hamilton County. Had he known, Helton said, he would have given her a stricter sentence.
Thanks to a new interlocal agreement passed last week by Hamilton County commissioners, Helton is hopeful the scene won't repeat itself. Under the agreement, East Ridge court records will be integrated into CJUS, the online case management tracking system used in Hamilton County Criminal Court.
"This will be a great improvement for the East Ridge City Court and at the same time a benefit for the General Sessions Court, criminal courts, district attorney, public defender, attorneys and the public as a whole," Helton said.
The system looks even worse in the East Ridge clerk's office, where workers manually create a docket that in the CJUS system is much easier to generate.
At a cost to East Ridge of $25,000, county information technology specialists will build a completely new platform for the city.
Helton said he and Hamilton County judges often see the same defendants. They can move from East Ridge Court to Criminal Court in Hamilton County. But right now, records aren't visible between the two courts, meaning information that could be critical to sentencing and procedures isn't immediately acccessible to judges.
"Right now they can see an arrest, but they can't tell what happened," county communications manager Mike Dunne said.
Contact staff writer Claire Wiseman at cwiseman@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6347. Follow her on Twitter @clairelwiseman.