OASIS LegalXML Integrated Justice TC

The original Call For Participation for this TC may be found at http://lists.oasis-open.org/archives/tc-announce/200207/msg00009.html

The charter for this TC is as follows.

Name

Integrated Justice Technical Committee in the LegalXML Member Section of OASIS

The Integrated Justice Technical Committee plans to constitute the following subcommittees, and such additional subcommittees as shall appear necessary and appropriate to carrying out the Technical Committee's purpose:

  • Arrest/Incident Report Subcommittee
  • Arrest Warrant Subcommittee
  • Charging Document Policy Subcommittee
  • Sentencing Order/Disposition Subcommittee
  • Protection Order Registry Subcommittee

Statement of Purpose

The major challenge in electronic exchange of information among justice branches and agencies, many utilizing legacy computer systems, is the negotiation of system interfaces. The Integrated Justice Technical Committee (IJTC) can support information exchange among and within these systems when it has approved specifications for information exchanges.

During the initial phase of the SEARCH Justice Information Exchange Model (JIEM) Project, five pilot states (Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania) defined key information exchanges and business rules among justice agencies. A number of additional states have subsequently begun using the JIEM Modeling Tool, contributing additional support for conclusions reached in the early stages of the project. Initial analysis of the raw data compiled in the JIEM project identified several priority exchanges among justice agencies (i.e., those that initial research demonstrated occurred frequently among jurisdictions, and are believed to be ubiquitous throughout the justice enterprise): (1) the Arrest or Incident Report; (2) the Arrest Warrant; (3) the charging document (Complaint, Information, or Grand Jury Indictment); and (4) the Sentencing Order.

At the June 2001 face-to-face meeting of the Legal XML Integrated Justice Workgroup, members present discussed the elements of these priority exchanges, and the need to begin formal development and vetting of XML specifications for these specific exchanges, and called for the development of separate Working Groups around each of these four priority exchanges. Leaders of each Working Group were identified and agreed to move forward with development.

Members also called for development of an Object Repository/Data Dictionary Working Group, to begin development of an Object Repository/Data Dictionary that would collect, maintain and support XML specifications in an on-line format, focusing particularly on the universal data and datasets identified in the JIEM project, but not tied to any particular document or specific exchange. The Object Repository/Data Dictionary would enable users and developers to upload, download, and/or reference universal XML specifications in the justice discipline, regardless from which exchange or document they originated.

Subsequently, members of the Legal XML Integrated Justice Workgroup identified the Order of Protection as a fifth priority exchange, and a working group has been established to begin development and vetting of XML specifications for this exchange.

Coincident with, and slightly preceding the work of the Legal XML Integrated Justice Workgroup, the Infrastructure/Standards Working Group (ISWG) of the Global Justice Information Network Advisory Committee (Global), began support for the reconciliation of established or draft XML specifications among three justice stakeholder groups active in XML development: the Regional Information Sharing Systems (RISS) XML Data Exchange Specification, the Electronic Court Filing 1.0 XML Specification, and the XML Interstate Criminal History (Rap Sheet) Transmission Specification. That reconciliation effort has continued, and the scope of work of the ISWG has expanded to begin addressing broader structural and governance issues associated with development, implementation, maintenance and support of a universal Justice XML Data Dictionary.

The reconciliation effort was begun in March 2001, and continued through March 2002. In Fall 2001 the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) was added to the reconciliation effort, and their XML specifications have also begun to shape the reconciled XML data dictionary.

More information regarding the Global Justice Information Network Advisory Committee, its membership, committees and work, can be found at http://www.it.ojp.gov/global/admin/index.html.

See NTIA and IIR, Lessons Learned in Reconciling Three Justice XML Development Efforts, June 2002, at http://www.it.ojp.gov/global/standards/files/xml-lessons-learned-0.71. doc for more information about this reconciliation effort.

Much of the initial work of the Object Repository/Data Dictionary Working Group has contributed to the deliberations of newly formed subcommittees of ISWG, and there is every expectation that Global will continue to support development, implementation, maintenance and support of the universal Justice XML Data Dictionary. Accordingly, the Object Repository/Data Dictionary Working Group of the IJTC will not continue with core development in this area, and the full IJTC will instead monitor, comment upon, and serve as a vetting mechanism for the universal Justice XML Data Dictionary.

The purpose of the Integrated Justice Technical Committee is to develop XML specifications for exchanging data among justice system branches and agencies. While its principal focus will be on data pertaining to criminal cases, its scope will include certain data exchanges in civil cases, such as civil protection order, child support enforcement and dependency and neglect cases.

The Committee will also serve as a vehicle for vetting the universal Justice XML Data Dictionary being developed under the auspices of the Infrastructure/Standards Working Group of the Global Justice Information Network Advisory Committee, US Department of Justice.

In addition to the OASIS approval process, the Integrated Justice Technical Committee will provide its proposed and recommended specifications for registration by the Global Justice Information Network Advisory Committee.

List of Deliverables

The Integrated Justice Technical Committee plans to complete the following tasks during its first year of operation:

  1. Develop a functional XML specification for a universal Arrest/Incident Report.
  2. Develop a functional XML specification for a universal Arrest Warrant.
  3. Develop a functional XML specification for a universal Charging Document.
  4. Develop a functional XML specification for a universal Sentencing Order.
  5. Develop a functional XML specification for a universal Order of Protection and the transmission of orders and data needed for Protection Order Registries.
  6. Review and comment on Versions1.0.0 Justice XML Data Dictionary Schema (JXDDS), based on the existing "Reconciled" Justice XML Data Dictionary.
  7. Review and comment on Version 1.1.0 JXDDS, differing from Version 1.0.0.
  8. Review and comment on Version 2.0.0 and 3.0.0 of the JXDDS.

Standing Rules

The Integrated Justice Technical Committee will follow the operating rules of OASIS and any operating rules adopted by the LegalXML Member Section Steering Committee with the approval of OASIS management and the OASIS Board of Directors. In addition, the Technical Committee will abide by the following practices:

  1. All decisions will be made by consensus.
  2. All decisions made in face-to-face meetings will be subject to ratification or rejection by the full membership of the Technical Committee on the list serve.
  3. All formal email discussions concerning the technical work of the Technical Committee and its subcommittees will take place on OASIS supported list serves.
  4. One member of the Technical Committee and of each subcommittee will serve as ombudsman to monitor the public list for that entity and provide input from the public list to the committee and subcommittee discussions.
  5. In no event shall this Technical Committee finalize or approve any technical specification if it believes that the use, distribution, or implementation of such specification would necessarily require the unauthorized infringement of any third party rights known to the technical committee, and such third party has not agreed to provide necessary license rights on perpetual, royalty-free, non-discriminatory terms.

 

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