Steps to Submitting an ecomplaint to the BCA Using The Compleat Prosecutor. Version 3

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1 Steps to Submitting an ecomplaint to the BCA Using The Compleat Prosecutor Version 3 1. Build your case file. 2. Create your charges. 3. Add aliases. 4. Edit probable cause. 5. Verify your data. 6. (Optional) Generate a Word document. 7. Build your ecomplaint. 8. (Optional) Examine your ecomplaint. 9. Send your ecomplaint to the BCA. 10. Process return messages. 11. Via your internet browser, sign the complaint and submit it to the court. TCP3 is available only to law firms and public agencies in the State of Minnesota authorized to prosecute offenses and have authorized connectivity to the CJDN. For more information, see the license materials when you download TCP from the website. Any references to businesses in this article should be followed by etc. as applicable. Doug Johnson Coon Rapids City Attorney s Office 02 February, 2012 Johnson@coonrapidsmn.gov 1 P age

2 1. Build your Case File. I first enter information such as the subject s name, d.o.b., address, and complainant information in some orderly way. The Gen tab allows for entry of basic information about the defendant, when he or she is going to court (if applicable), charge level, ticket number, etc. Discussion Notes: This happens to be a case where a prior MNCIS ticket had been issued, but the defendant failed to appear. If the ticket had been a non MNCIS ticket (e.g. from a city diversion program) you would check the box at the bottom and the tab charge previously filed flag would not be raised. You will need to coordinate with your clerk of court how to process these, including the dismissal of the original ticket. Prior MNCIS court file number included in this case. MNCIS does not support No permanent address; need to have city and zip. There are also fields for State Identification Number (SID), Social Security Number, and gun permit information. 2 P age

3 The Comp tab is for special information about complaints, including the type (here, CRIMINAL COMPLAINT SUMMONS ), ORI for complainant and arresting officer, event location ( PC ), and information about tests and vehicle used. I can track the status at the bottom. Discussion Notes: Warrant bail amounts should be entered only if approved by your bench; Filing notes can be added, if you want, to probable cause; in custody information should be added to make the case light up in orange; enter court date/time (previous tab) for in custodies only in conjunction with your jail and court administrator). 3 P age

4 2. Create your charges. Every complaint needs counts. Counts must have a primary charge, and may have penalty charges, modifier charges (such as attempts, aiding and abetting), and other charges. Counts also need to have titles, penalty language, and a charge description. Again, each data element needs to be stored in some meaningful way. Discussion Notes: The SSID and penalty information must conform to CJIS rules (see link 1 ) and match your offense level; optional ordinance language can be added in the space provided. TCP does not (yet) support multiple offense dates/jurisdictions. Rollout of that feature is slated for P age

5 3. Verify your aliases. The BCA wants you to separate out the name into its various components, i.e. first, middles, and surnames, plus birth date and suffixes. If I have aliases, I can create one with the name and/or birth date alias. A Windows form can help generate this level of detail. (This form shows the defendant has no aliases.) Discussion Note: We have not been entering previous aliases for a defendant, but only those that are generated on this case, for example, when the defendant gives false information. Suffix should not include the dot: e.g. Sr is okay, but not Sr. TCP utilizes a drop down box to enter this data to minimize mistakes. 5 P age

6 4. Edit your probable cause. TCP3 allows for editing of probable cause directly in the case management system. I can also insert macros for often used language (DVS revocation, etc.) You could use a word processor to generate your probable cause, then copy and paste it into TCP3. In the picture, I have expanded my PC tab, and modified the font to 13 point Times New Roman. I edit the probable cause here. I am about to insert a macro stating the defendant s driver s license was revoked on some particular date. Discussion Note: Here is where you could add a charging note if approved by your court administrator. I have done this to advise, for example, that a judge has previously rejected this complaint, and that changes were made as a result. You could also add language as to why the complaint is being filed to prompt a court administrator to file the case properly. Note that complainant is not named; this is because the BCA echarging system allows for change of complainant after the case has entered the system. 6 P age

7 In our office, the legal assistants build the case files and edit probable cause for many cases. In some gross misdemeanors and complicated cases, the attorneys edit the probable cause. Strangely enough, MNCIS does not care what your probable cause contains, even though it is the single most important part of your complaint. Whether probable cause exists for a charge is evidently for a judge, not a computer, to decide, at least for now! 5. Verify your data. At various points in your process, I can verify that the data I will be submitting complies with the BCA business rules. This is sort of like using spell check on a Word document before printing it. In this case, I have pressed the Set Values button on the XML tab after entering data, and I am alerted that a vehicle license plate has been entered, but the state ( MN ) or vehicle type is missing. This would generate an echarging error at the BCA if allowed to pass. There are a number of other errors that are checked at this stage. TCP allows for an error report such as this to be sent to the TCP HelpDesk for analysis. I just press the Send Error Report button. 7 P age

8 6. (Optional) Print out a Word Document. At any stage, TCP3 allows you to generate a Word document complaint at the touch of a button. Use this option to produce a complaint to file by hand. Here, I have verified my data and pressed the Draft button on the Comp tab, which automatically pulled up a Word merge form and merged it against my data to a new Word document which I can edit further if I want. Discussion Note: If you use this option, it is a good idea to have TCP3 data and the Word document match; e.g. don t change your probable cause in one but not the other. 8 P age

9 7. Build your XML and check for business rules errors. TCP manages a collection of data elements that need to be associated with variables (called tokens ) on an echarging form. The way it creates the finished document is fairly trivial: it just does a search and replace to substitute data for the tokens on that form. (It s actually a little more complicated than that, but you get the idea.) You could do it yourself, but we are talking over a hundred variables. It s also helpful to keep track of certain token values that are provided to the BCA, such as the echarging ID number, the document ID of the complaint (which is needed when submitting an amended complaint), and other information. Here I have pressed the Set Values button, which associated my data values (such as the arrest date from the Comp tab, which would be filled in on the Current field if there had been an arrest), with the XML token ( A_DATE ), which will be transferred to the XML form. Discussion Note: At this stage, a user could stop the process and edit the Current value if necessary, although it should not normally be necessary to do this. But this feature gives TCP some scalability in case a value for some reason is in wrong format, or an additional element needs to be added. 9 P age

10 7. Build your ecomplaint. This is analogous to printing a document; that is, turning it from computer data into a printed form, except we re making an eform. The process is a bit complicated, but it conceivably could be done by using a text editor and search and replace macros, or even using a mail merge. Building the XML document 2 allows for a second error check. TCP3 arranges to check the document directly against the business rules for echarging, and will notify me if there is an error. In such a case, my complaint will not be sent to the BCA for further processing. (For those of you keeping score, this is a significant enhancement over TCP2, in which you could check the file only using a separate application such as XML Notepad or Altova XML Spy.) It s actually pretty hard to get an error at this stage, because TCP3 limits your choices. For example, while you can select a CRIMINAL COMPLAINT WARRANT on the Comp tab, you cannot select CRIMINAL COMPLAINT FUBAR, which would generate this kind of error. 2 If you have not figured it out by now, that special ecomplaint document is called an.xml document. XML is not a programming language; it s just a way of representing data, like the English language is a way of representing words. XML is a sort of Esperanto for computers; a bunch of computer folks got together and decided the rules for XML so that all computers could talk to one another, even if their operating systems and programs were different. So like English, XML has its own grammar; improper things in XML make it invalid, just like you will not get an A from your English teacher if you misspell words on your essay. (Unfortunately, with computers it s black or white: you can only get an A or an F, not a C. If there s even one typo on and XML document, it s like totally rejected, man. Bummer.) I occasionally use Altova XMLSpy (it s free for trial on the internet) to help me determine if my ecomplaint is going to be accepted by the BCA. An xml document is well formed if it complies with the structural requirements of XML. This is kind of like saying a letter is well formed if it has a date, salutation, body, and signature block. An xml document is valid if it is well formed and it conforms to the business rules of the person you are sending it to. This is like, in our letter paradigm, of having the letter read Dear Judge Anderson: rather than What s happening, Mikey! 10 P age

11 Charge counts are (for now) are a little different. When I charge an ordinance, I select an Ordinance Category from a list. TCP3 allows me (again for scalability) simply to type in a category from this list. In our example, I have added an ordinance Dog at Large charge from our list of charges, but I have deliberately changed the charge category from ANIMAL, which would be valid, to FUBAR, which is not. TCP3 alerted me to the error when I tried to build the XML document, and refused to create my document to send to the BCA. This is actually a nice check, because it would be a shame to go through all the work of sending the document just to have it rejected. A successful Build XML allows TCP3 to do all the search and replace functions for me. It then creates an ecomplaint for sending to the BCA. Now if you re wondering, at this point you could create additional complaints before proceeding to the next steps, which involve sending one or more complaints to the BCA. 11 P age

12 8. (Optional) Examine your ecomplaint. At this point, I could just submit my complaint for echarging, but I also can examine it first with that third party software I mentioned in the Build discussion. TCP3 removes the need to do this step; however, you could view a complaint XML before you send the document to MNCIS. In this example (not our current case), I have opened the file with Altova XML Spy and verified it is valid (the little green check mark at the bottom). If it were not, the application, much like TCP3, would tell me what the error was. XML Spy also lets you peek at the structure of an XML document. Items in black are actual token substitutions; items in brown and red are the XML template, or form, required by the BCA to accept your complaint into echarging. What you can read at the bottom is the first participant (the complainant) module. 12 P age

13 9. Send your ecomplaint to the BCA. Having a valid ecomplaint is the biggest battle. Now I just need to send it to the BCA. After it s built, our ecomplaint is just sitting in a local outbox on my computer. Unfortunately, we can t just send it as an attachment to the BCA. If we could, that would require someone monitoring an box, taking the attachment out, and stuffing it into some kind of computer program. They would then need to get a response and it back to us. For every complaint! That s very inefficient. Plus, it s not very safe. Remember, this is private data until your complaint is signed by the judge. So we need a faster, more secure way to get this information to the BCA. For this, we have a messaging service sitting on a computer server that is in the Criminal Justice Data Network, or CJDN. The messaging service monitors file directories (let s call them OUT boxes). When a file appears in an OUT box, the service grabs it, opens a secure connection to the BCA, and sends the file. It then brokers response messages from the BCA about the file and puts them in an IN box in a format you (or your computer!) can read. All you have to do is snoop once in awhile to see if there are any messages in your inbox. In our example I have selected a menu item for exporting a file to that secure server for transport to the BCA, and TCP3 is asking me to select a file. When I do, a special file protocol called FTP (stands for File Transfer Protocol, not surprisingly) will move the file to that server. 13 P age

14 If you use TCP3, you will need a BCA or LOGIS issued fob in order to get into the server. It is not necessary to use TCP3 to get your XML document to the BCA; if you build your own messaging service (about $10,000), you can send the XML package yourself instead. To talk to TCP, however, the service will need to return messages in a form TCP can understand Process return messages from the BCA. The FTP Send process (not shown here, it s basically a button click) triggers the messaging service, which sends your XML package to the BCA, and waits for a return message. The return message comes back to the program within a minute or two. Here is our case message return, now in our local IN box. What you should note is the last line of the return message; it contains the document and echarging IDs for the case ( and ). Also included are the case number (12CR158) and some other data. 3 For more information on the send receive protocol, go to Format requirements and samples for return messages are available from Johnson@coonrapidsmn.gov. The Coon Rapids messaging service, built through a grant from the BCA, is available to any jurisdiction in Minnesota wanting to submit ecomplaints. For non TCP3 users, processing rates will apply. 14 P age

15 The ID numbers come from the BCA, and are now associated with my TCP file. Because of this association, if I need to change my complaint before it is signed by the judge, I can simply overwrite my submitted case file with the new information. 4 After I process the file, the information will be stored for future reference in my TCP tabbed dialog. Compare the information in the estatus box at the bottom of the Comp tab with what is represented on page 3 of this document. You can copy and paste this information to another place if you want. If you Send the document again, these numbers will be used. 5 Discussion Note: If instead the case was for some reason rejected, the RESULT notation would read ERROR, and the IDs would be 0. 6 The return xml file ( XML Content, above) would give you a clue why your submission was in error usually a bad statute SSID there may be others! 4 Once the judge has signed the complaint, I have to do an amended complaint. If I want to change a complaint I have already signed, I can unsign it as long as my complainant hasn t signed it yet, otherwise I have to have the complainant unsign it first. These workflow rules sound complicated at first, but after you do a few complaints, they become second nature. 5 It is important never to delete a charged case from the BCA complaints queue, unless it is a complete mistake and you know you will not charge this case by complaint. If you do, you will then have document IDs that are associated with a non existent case in the queue, which would be bad (like crossing the streams bad). 6 Unless the error was a previous submission, in which case the numbers will (soon) be added for you. This happens if you try to send a complaint through a second time before processing the return message. 15 P age

16 11. The esigning Process. Now comes the fun part. Using my internet browser, I can go to the BCA s echarging website and sign my complaint. At the same time as I have sent the complaint to the BCA inbox, I have received an notifying me of a new case in my personal workflow queue. 7 If I click on the , I get a link to my case. I need to be logged in via my BCA or Logis issued fob to access the website. 7 You can set your preferences in echarging to allow for numerous notifications via . Our friends from the BCA can give you lots of information on adjusting these settings for your office. 16 P age

17 If I use the hotlink, I will go directly to my case. If I just open the website on my browser, I would access my work queue: Hmm looks like I have a few complaints to sign. As you can see, my case 12CR158 is at the top of this list. (If this were an in custody case, it would light up orange). When I press the Go button, I get this screen: 17 P age

18 Sorry it s scrunched: I ve actually zoomed the screen out a bit to capture more of the case, which extends quite a ways down the page. 8 Let s zoom in and look at pieces of it, and see how our data is referenced in echarging. The top indicates the case status and basic information. The bar at the top indicates where the case is in the system. When blue extends all the way along the bar, the complaint has been signed by the judge and accepted by MNCIS. I can click on the bar and get more detail where the case is. You can see our echarging and Document IDs are referenced, and this case is noted as a Tab Charge/Citation Previously Filed case. This will alert the court administrator that there is a ticket file out there that is the same as this case. I can print preview the document now, sign it, or assign it to someone else to sign. I can publish the document if I want to send it by paper to the courthouse instead of echarging. Note that I can edit some of these areas. 8 Perhaps the BCA s next generation echarging screen will used a tabbed dialog format, like TCP. 18 P age

19 If I scroll down the form, I will get the probable cause and charges. If I find typos at this point, I just have to fix them in TCP3, re save my values, build, and send the complaint again. The process takes about 30 seconds. Discussion Note: If you use the BCA adapter to echarge, you can make changes to the complaint online. If you use TCP3, you make changes to the TCP3 case file and resubmit. This way your probable cause is synched between TCP and MNCIS. 19 P age

20 A bit further down the screen are the charges, and additional information. I can click on the drop downs and get statutory and (optionally) ordinance language. (I ve shrunk this screen a bit so you can see fingerprint and handgun information, which maps to corresponding checkboxes in TCP3). Discussion Note: Jurisdictions should confer with court administration whether to set the court date and time for cases where a summons has not yet been sent. 20 P age

21 When I ve reviewed the case, I can sign it and send it to police to review and approve. Note that I have to enter my password again to sign the case. Discussion Note: If on a speed limit violation you have failed to enter the posted speed and violator s speed, the complaint will fail echarging all the way at this point! After I have successfully signed the complaint, I am returned to the case information status. The case is now removed from my work queue. 9 The complaint is now assigned to law enforcement. Note that the blue bar indicates this, and the complainant is noted at the bottom of the screen. echarging allows a law enforcement agency to designate one or more entities to receive the complaint. From here, I can access the file and see it wind its way through the system. Others (jail, court administration) can also view the case at any time to determine status and court appearance time and date. 9 If I want to access the case at a later date, there is a search function by name or by case number (ICR, ticket, or City Attorney case number). 21 P age