NC lawmakers press judicial officials on eCourts

North Carolina lawmakers pressed Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) Director Ryan Boyce on Dec. 11 for detailed answers about cost overruns, system performance, and long-term efficiency tied to the state’s eCourts technology rollout. The Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Justice and Public Safety hearing highlighted frustrations over slowdowns, unclear financial savings, and heavy reliance on a single vendor.

The exchanges underscored legislator concerns about government spending, vendor accountability, and whether taxpayers are getting tangible value from one of the largest IT projects in state history.

‘The application is too slow.‘

“I’ve watched the assistant DA lose connection to eCourts and have to start the process all over again,” state Sen. Buck Newton, R-Wilson, said to open the questioning. He added that while the state has invested roughly $2 million in courthouse Wi-Fi, that infrastructure alone is not solving the problem. “Is that enough? What can you tell me about that?”

Boyce acknowledged the issues candidly. “It is really not a Wi-Fi or network issue,” he said. “It is really a vendor issue. And I agree with you — the application is too slow.” He added that the state has “held them [Tyler Technologies] accountable financially,” though he acknowledged the process of improving performance has been gradual.

Lawmakers noted that slow software impacts court efficiency across the state. Magistrates, clerks, prosecutors, and private attorneys report heavier workloads, duplicative efforts, and system delays. Newton said, “Everybody that’s a player in the system… all say they’re drowning, they need more help.”

Boyce explained that the challenge stems from the shift to a unified statewide system. “This is the first time ever we’re providing support to all judicial stakeholders,” he said.

Under the old mainframe-era system created in the 1950s, NCAOC primarily supported clerks and provided limited functions for district attorneys. The new system consolidates case management, e-warrants, citations, and other services into one platform, creating broader support responsibilities.

Costs still unclear

State Rep. Reece Pyrtle, R-Rockingham, focused on fiscal accountability.

“When we started the Odyssey project, what was the projected cost versus the actual final cost?” Pyrtle asked. “Was it under budget? Over budget? Did we have to put more monies with it?”

Boyce provided preliminary figures: the original 10-year case-management contract with Tyler Technologies was $85 million; a 2020 add-on for e-warrants added $30 million; and the e-citation system costs roughly $2.5 million annually.

Pyrtle pressed further. “You didn’t have any numbers there,” he said, referring to AOC’s cost-savings presentation. “Do you have numbers?”

Boyce admitted the information is still being compiled. “I’ve asked our team to start pulling that together. You’ll have that before the budget submissions,” he said.

In the absence of definitive cost-savings data, it remained unclear to legislators whether the eCourts rollout is delivering measurable efficiency gains or simply shifting costs to local offices while increasing reliance on a single vendor.

Federal mandates and unfunded requirements

The committee also explored looming federal accessibility requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Newton asked for an estimate of the costs to comply.

Boyce said upgrades to the judicial branch’s website could run $200,000 to $300,000, emphasizing that these changes were mandated without federal funding. “Like with most things with the federal government, this mandate did not come with money,” he said.

Jury portal adoption lags

AOC has also launched an online jury-excusal portal designed to make it easier for citizens to request exemptions or deferments. Newton praised the initiative but questioned why adoption has been uneven. “Clerks would want to opt into that,” he said. “Is there a technical reason… why they aren’t opting in?”

Boyce explained that the issue is procedural rather than technological. “Under statute, the chief district court judge is in charge of jury excusals,” he said.

Some smaller counties still prefer handling requests by phone or letter. Newton said constituents frequently ask about easier ways to manage jury service, adding, “Now that I know, I’m going to refer them to the online portal.”

Only 45 counties currently offer the portal; residents in other counties must check with the court in each county to request excusals by phone or mail.

Staffing and workload tensions

Pyrtle pressed Boyce on staffing concerns, noting that while AOC has retired mainframe-era positions, it is requesting additional support staff to manage the statewide system. “That threw me off a little bit,” he said. “Where does the rubber meet the road on that?”

Boyce clarified that retiring the mainframe eliminated old positions, but new responsibilities created by the eCourts system require different staffing allocations. He acknowledged that vendor-related slowdowns exacerbate pressure at the courthouse level.

“At the end of the day, the vendor is responsible for increasing that speed on their back end,” he said.

Cybersecurity challenges

Boyce warned lawmakers of escalating cyber threats due to artificial intelligence. “Our network alone faces about 15,000 different attacks per day,” he said. “Those attacks are increasing… because of AI.” He noted that rising cybersecurity costs, hardware replacements, and inflation all add to the long-term financial demands of the project.

Lawmakers signal stronger oversight

Despite acknowledging the system’s potential, lawmakers made clear that patience for vendor delays and incomplete financial metrics is limited. Newton suggested establishing statutory performance benchmarks for Tyler Technologies, and Pyrtle emphasized that AOC must provide hard numbers before the next budget cycle.

The eCourts project represents one of the largest modernization efforts in North Carolina government, consolidating decades of paper-based processes into a digital framework intended to increase efficiency, transparency, and access to justice.

This story first appeared at The Carolina Journal.