02
Sat, Nov
2 New Articles

Out of the Blue: Here Comes the Judge

Commentary
Typography
  • Smaller Small Medium Big Bigger
  • Default Helvetica Segoe Georgia Times

By age 14, the 16-year- old boy now standing in the back of Judge Hargreaves's courtroom was already in the databases of several local and county agencies. His name and misdeeds were recorded in the juvenile department's AS/400, which stood in a crowded storage room dwarfed by government-issue file cabinets. The Children's Services Division had investigated a report of possible abuse filed by a concerned teacher. Its findings were recorded on the ancient tracks of a S/36. The case worker, frustrated with the limitations of the system, added the boy to the loosely organized records of his desktop PC. The police department had its own computer. Two incidents of domestic violence at the boy's home and a burglary investigation were registered in its RS/6000.

These agencies, as a matter of technical limitation, did not share their data. Hence, the picture each agency had of the boy was incomplete. The court, which had its own growing list of computer entries detailing the boy's appearances, directed his providence based on the best available information. A more complete picture may have tempered punishment with counseling, confinement with family intervention.

"To be fully effective," John Maguire told me, "the courts must be integrated; able to share the data of supporting agencies." In his present capacity at IBM, it is Maguire's job to provide that integration. He has a title that is the delight of every writer being paid by the word: Managing Consultant, Public Safety and Justice, IBM Government Systems. More accurately, he represents the "Justice" portion of that equation, heading a small unit with global aspirations. Although its name sounds like a canceled TVseries, the Justice Team exists to provide a full spectrum of customized software and consulting services to the world's courts.

The group is comprised of twelve consultants, a dozen marketing experts, six developers, and an equal number of legal beagles in Europe and Asia Pacific. They develop complete, individualized court management systems, from executive planning to end-user documentation. Although justice solutions can be customized to run on a variety of platforms, the AS/400 and RS/6000 have such a wide install base among state and local agencies that they are key midrange platforms for court management applications.

"Automation is not enough," explained Maguire. "We help our customers examine their processes and identify areas that need improvement; areas that can most benefit from information technology." One of the group's notable successes is a 39-month, $25 million effort in Pennsylvania. There, the Justice Team installed a state-wide network linking some 30 AS/400s to track the burgeoning case load of the state's Limited Jurisdiction Courts.

Key to supporting the courts is an understanding of how judicial systems work and the ability to translate judicial requirements into a language developers can understand. That is the function of Maguire's consultants, some of whom possess formidable legal credentials.

Jim Hargreaves is a new member of the team, having joined IBM after serving twenty-one years as a judge in the Pacific Northwest. Meeting him, I was struck by his unexpected lack of cynicism. After two decades of dealing with the seamy side of human deportment, his eyes remain enduringly kind and quick to humor.

"The problem with the legal system is that half the people don't want it to work right," Hargreaves told me over breakfast. This morning he is eating oatmeal, which suggests, if not crime, then certainly punishment to me. I wanted to find out why, at the apex of a promising career on the Circuit Court, he left the bench to join IBM and help develop court management systems? It turns out that his commitment to children was part of the answer.

Hargreaves graduated from the University of Oregon School of Law in 1968. After a brief stint in legal aid, he opened a private practice. Shortly thereafter, he discovered an untimely personal impediment to being an attorney: "I hated conflict," he said. He didn't much care for clients either. What to do?

The answer came in 1975 in the form of an opening on the District Court. The position was more suited to his nature. "Judges solve problems," he said, "lawyers argue about them."

In 1977, the more prestigious Circuit Court provided an opportunity. But after a decade of referencing legal gymnastics and enduring the contortions of career no-goodnicks, Hargreaves got fed up with "the progression of process over problem solving. There are only so many excuses," he said, "only so many police conspiracies you can listen to."

In 1989, he volunteered for a rotation in juvenile court. There he rekindled his passion for the law, finally able to make the kind of contribution he wanted. "It was the best and the worst of experiences. The abuse and neglect tear your heart out; but I felt I contributed more in five years than in my entire preceeding career."

He became committed to providing consistency for youth floating without rudder or anchor. "I never raised my voice," he recalled, "but I made it very clear what the consequences of specific behaviors would be." Working with child welfare agencies, he fought for the children, applying the power of the court in support of the powerless.

As his rotation in Juvenile Court was coming to an end, Hargreaves realized he had no desire to return to civil law, and looked for an opportunity to advocate for children.

Attending a conference of the National Association of Court Managers in Portland, Oregon, Hargreaves met IBM's Mary-Lu Holter, who was trolling for legal expertise. She astutely recognized Hargreaves as a keeper and invited him to interview with Maguire in Bethesda, Maryland. Hargreaves recognized the opportunity to advocate for children in a different fashion: to help develop the essential support systems that would provide judges with all the information they need to help troubled youth.

Hargreaves whimsically calls himself a "Subject Matter Expert," which would make an elegantly vague business card. In his consulting capacity, he hopes to work with juvenile courts across the nation, identifying their needs and automating their processes to prepare them for what The Atlantic calls a "long descending night" of juvenile crime. Maguire has already identified two such opportunities for him.

The AS/400 and its legendary networking capabilities will play a part in the automation and integration of justice systems. With relative ease, it was able to link the court's system with the juvenile department's AS/400, the Children's Services S/36, the case worker's PC, the police department's RS/6000, and the assortment of non-IBM equipment found in government offices.

Hargreaves job will be to interface between customers and the development team, which constructs solutions using object-oriented programming (OOP). The Justice Team's strategic direction is to leverage IBM's object-oriented development tools, which not only decrease application delivery time but allow a more intimate and continuous customer involvement in the development process.

In retrospect, how does Hargreaves view his decision to leave the bench? He claimed to be "having fun for the first time in years." His face supports that claim. It also bears an enduring pride born of making a difference in the lives of those seemingly beyond reach.

The 16-year-old boy stood patiently at the back of the courtroom, waiting a long time for the judge to finish the day's proceedings. Hargreaves recognized him from his many past appearances. When the court finally adjourned, the boy approached. "You know all those times you told me to get a life?" asked the boy.

"Yes," answered the judge.

"Well, I did."

Victor Rozek has 17 years experience in the data processing industry, including seven years with IBM in Operations Management and Systems Engineering.

BLOG COMMENTS POWERED BY DISQUS

LATEST COMMENTS

Support MC Press Online

$

Book Reviews

Resource Center

  • SB Profound WC 5536 Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application. You can find Part 1 here. In Part 2 of our free Node.js Webinar Series, Brian May teaches you the different tooling options available for writing code, debugging, and using Git for version control. Brian will briefly discuss the different tools available, and demonstrate his preferred setup for Node development on IBM i or any platform. Attend this webinar to learn:

  • SB Profound WP 5539More than ever, there is a demand for IT to deliver innovation. Your IBM i has been an essential part of your business operations for years. However, your organization may struggle to maintain the current system and implement new projects. The thousands of customers we've worked with and surveyed state that expectations regarding the digital footprint and vision of the company are not aligned with the current IT environment.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT Generic IBM announced the E1080 servers using the latest Power10 processor in September 2021. The most powerful processor from IBM to date, Power10 is designed to handle the demands of doing business in today’s high-tech atmosphere, including running cloud applications, supporting big data, and managing AI workloads. But what does Power10 mean for your data center? In this recorded webinar, IBMers Dan Sundt and Dylan Boday join IBM Power Champion Tom Huntington for a discussion on why Power10 technology is the right strategic investment if you run IBM i, AIX, or Linux. In this action-packed hour, Tom will share trends from the IBM i and AIX user communities while Dan and Dylan dive into the tech specs for key hardware, including:

  • Magic MarkTRY the one package that solves all your document design and printing challenges on all your platforms. Produce bar code labels, electronic forms, ad hoc reports, and RFID tags – without programming! MarkMagic is the only document design and print solution that combines report writing, WYSIWYG label and forms design, and conditional printing in one integrated product. Make sure your data survives when catastrophe hits. Request your trial now!  Request Now.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericForms of ransomware has been around for over 30 years, and with more and more organizations suffering attacks each year, it continues to endure. What has made ransomware such a durable threat and what is the best way to combat it? In order to prevent ransomware, organizations must first understand how it works.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericIT security is a top priority for businesses around the world, but most IBM i pros don’t know where to begin—and most cybersecurity experts don’t know IBM i. In this session, Robin Tatam explores the business impact of lax IBM i security, the top vulnerabilities putting IBM i at risk, and the steps you can take to protect your organization. If you’re looking to avoid unexpected downtime or corrupted data, you don’t want to miss this session.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericCan you trust all of your users all of the time? A typical end user receives 16 malicious emails each month, but only 17 percent of these phishing campaigns are reported to IT. Once an attack is underway, most organizations won’t discover the breach until six months later. A staggering amount of damage can occur in that time. Despite these risks, 93 percent of organizations are leaving their IBM i systems vulnerable to cybercrime. In this on-demand webinar, IBM i security experts Robin Tatam and Sandi Moore will reveal:

  • FORTRA Disaster protection is vital to every business. Yet, it often consists of patched together procedures that are prone to error. From automatic backups to data encryption to media management, Robot automates the routine (yet often complex) tasks of iSeries backup and recovery, saving you time and money and making the process safer and more reliable. Automate your backups with the Robot Backup and Recovery Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAManaging messages on your IBM i can be more than a full-time job if you have to do it manually. Messages need a response and resources must be monitored—often over multiple systems and across platforms. How can you be sure you won’t miss important system events? Automate your message center with the Robot Message Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAThe thought of printing, distributing, and storing iSeries reports manually may reduce you to tears. Paper and labor costs associated with report generation can spiral out of control. Mountains of paper threaten to swamp your files. Robot automates report bursting, distribution, bundling, and archiving, and offers secure, selective online report viewing. Manage your reports with the Robot Report Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAFor over 30 years, Robot has been a leader in systems management for IBM i. With batch job creation and scheduling at its core, the Robot Job Scheduling Solution reduces the opportunity for human error and helps you maintain service levels, automating even the biggest, most complex runbooks. Manage your job schedule with the Robot Job Scheduling Solution. Key features include:

  • LANSA Business users want new applications now. Market and regulatory pressures require faster application updates and delivery into production. Your IBM i developers may be approaching retirement, and you see no sure way to fill their positions with experienced developers. In addition, you may be caught between maintaining your existing applications and the uncertainty of moving to something new.

  • LANSAWhen it comes to creating your business applications, there are hundreds of coding platforms and programming languages to choose from. These options range from very complex traditional programming languages to Low-Code platforms where sometimes no traditional coding experience is needed. Download our whitepaper, The Power of Writing Code in a Low-Code Solution, and:

  • LANSASupply Chain is becoming increasingly complex and unpredictable. From raw materials for manufacturing to food supply chains, the journey from source to production to delivery to consumers is marred with inefficiencies, manual processes, shortages, recalls, counterfeits, and scandals. In this webinar, we discuss how:

  • The MC Resource Centers bring you the widest selection of white papers, trial software, and on-demand webcasts for you to choose from. >> Review the list of White Papers, Trial Software or On-Demand Webcast at the MC Press Resource Center. >> Add the items to yru Cart and complet he checkout process and submit

  • Profound Logic Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application.

  • SB Profound WC 5536Join us for this hour-long webcast that will explore:

  • Fortra IT managers hoping to find new IBM i talent are discovering that the pool of experienced RPG programmers and operators or administrators with intimate knowledge of the operating system and the applications that run on it is small. This begs the question: How will you manage the platform that supports such a big part of your business? This guide offers strategies and software suggestions to help you plan IT staffing and resources and smooth the transition after your AS/400 talent retires. Read on to learn: