criminal discovery for defense attorneys: setup and usage ......the district attorney, the date and...

DAS Def Atty Manual April 2015.doc

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Criminal Discovery for Defense Attorneys: Setup and Usage Guide April 2015


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This Page Intentionally Left Blank


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CRIMINAL DISCOVERY FOR DEFENSE ATTORNEYS:

SETUP AND USAGE GUIDE

Table of Contents

1. Overview ..................................................................................................................................................... 4

2. Web Browser Settings ................................................................................................................................ 4

2.1. Configuring Internet Explorer to include nccourts.org as a trusted site. ............................................. 4

2.2. Enabling downloads and file downloads for the trusted sites zone in Internet Explorer. ......... ………8

2.3. Configuring Internet Explorer to allow pop-ups from nccourts.org……………………………………..12

2.4 Setting up Internet Explorer's "Compatibility View."………………………………………..……………14

3. Signing on to Criminal Discovery .............................................................................................................. 15

4. Selecting Criminal Discovery .................................................................................................................... 17

5. Downloading Criminal Discovery .............................................................................................................. 18

6. Receiving Automatic Email Notifications That Discovery is Available … ................................................. 19


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1. Overview

The Criminal Discovery application allows district attorneys to post discovery to a secure website so that defense attorneys assigned to a case may safely, securely, and conveniently download discovery. This Setup and Usage Guide provides instructions for web browser settings, instructions for accessing Criminal Discovery, and an overview of Criminal Discovery’s key functions. Additional help is available online within the Criminal Discovery application.

2. Web Browser Settings

The Criminal Discovery application is intended to be accessed using the Internet Explorer web browser (Version 7 or higher). You will need to configure Internet Explorer to do the following:

Update your computer’s “Compatibility View Settings”

Include nccourts.org as a trusted site

Enable downloads and file downloads for your trusted sites zone

Allow pop-ups from nccourts.org.

The following sub-sections detail the setting of required browser configurations.

2.1. Configuring Internet Explorer to include nccourts.org as a trusted site.

2.1.1. Launch Internet Explorer.

2.1.2. On the Tools menu, click Internet Options.


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2.1.3. Click the Security tab.

2.1.4. In the Select a zone to view or change security settings box, click Trusted sites.

2.1.5. Click the button labeled Sites.


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2.1.6. In the Add this website to the zone text box, type: https://*.nccourts.org.

2.1.7. Click the button labeled Add.

2.1.8. In the Add this website to the zone text box, type: https://*.aoc.nccourts.org.

2.1.9. Click the button labeled Add.

2.1.10. Uncheck the checkbox labeled Require server verification (https:) for all sites in this zone.

2.1.11. Click the button labeled Close, which returns you to the Security tab.

https://*.nccourts.org/

https://*.aoc.nccourts.org/


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2.1.12. Click the button labeled OK. You will be returned to your Internet Explorer home page.


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2.2. Enabling downloads and file downloads for the trusted sites zone in Internet Explorer.

From your Internet Explorer home page:

2.2.1. On the Tools menu, click Internet Options.


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2.2.2. Click the Security tab.

2.2.3. In the Select a zone to view or change security settings box, click Trusted sites.

2.2.4. In the Security level for this zone box, click Custom level....


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2.2.5. In the Settings box, scroll to the section labeled Downloads.

2.2.6. Click Enable for Automatic prompting for file downloads.

2.2.7. Click Enable for File download.

2.2.8. Click OK, which returns you to the Security tab.


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2.2.9. Click OK. You will be returned to your Internet Explorer home page.


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2.3. Configuring Internet Explorer to allow pop-ups from nccourts.org

From your Internet Explorer home page:

2.3.1. On the Tools menu, point to Pop-up Blocker, and click Pop-up Blocker Settings.


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2.3.2. In the Address of website to allow box, type *.nccourts.org.

2.3.3. Click Add.

2.3.4. Click Close.


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2.4 Setting up “Compatibility View” for the Internet Explorer Browser

2.4.1 From your Internet Explorer home page, click on Tools in the browser’s Menu Bar, then choose Compatibility View Settings. Note: If you don’t see a “Tools” option in the left-hand upper corner of the browser, you need to activate your Menu Bar. To do so, right click in the blue area, as shown at arrow, below, and check “Menu Bar.” When the Menu Bar appears, then click on Tools and choose Compatibility View Settings.

2.4.2 In the pop-up window that appears, type “nccourts.org” in the text box titled “Add this website” and then click on Add. “nccourts.org” will now appear in the “Websites you’ve added” box below.

2.4.3 Next, click the close button and exit out of Internet Explorer.


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3. Signing On to Criminal Discovery

3.1. Launch Internet Explorer.

3.2. In the address bar, type https://www3.nccourts.org.

3.3. Click the refresh button.

3.4. Type your user ID and password.

3.5. Click the button labeled Sign On.


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3.6. Click the link labeled Criminal Discovery. The Criminal Discovery Case Selection page will be displayed. See Section 4.


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4. Selecting Criminal Discovery

The Criminal Discovery application allows defense attorneys assigned to a case to safely and securely select and download released discovery. After you sign in, the Criminal Discovery Case Selection page is displayed. Discovery that has been released to you will be displayed. Screen features are listed below.

The Attorney list will include only the name of the attorney who is logged in.

The County dropdown will include a list of counties from which discovery has been released to you. Selecting a county from the list will filter the discovery displayed to include discovery released from the selected county only. To display discovery from all counties from which discovery has been released to you, choose Select All.

Hovering the cursor over the stickman image displays current user information. Hovering the cursor over the clock displays the number of seconds you had to wait for a system response to your last action, i.e., the last time you pressed the Enter or a function key.

Online help can be viewed by clicking the Help link. To exit the Criminal Discovery system, click the Exit link.

The cumulative file size of released discovery for each case is displayed in the Case File Size field.

Released discovery is grouped by the county from which it was released. Released discovery is further grouped by the case to which it pertains. The county name is preceded by a “+” or a “-” sign. Click “+” to display the list of case numbers for which discovery has been released. Click “-” to hide the list of case numbers displayed. To view the list of discovery files released for a case, click the appropriate case number link or radio button. The Criminal Discovery File Download page is displayed. See Section 5.

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5. Downloading Criminal Discovery

Upon your selection of a case (see Section 4, feature 6 above), the Criminal Discovery File Download page is displayed. This page allows you to select and download case discovery items. Discovery is downloaded in a compressed .zip file to your PC. You are responsible for “unzipping” the file after it is downloaded. Screen features are listed below.

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Clicking the printer icon prints the Criminal Discovery File Download information listed. Clicking the Help link displays online help. Clicking the Close link closes the Criminal Discovery File Download window.

A header listing case information for the case number selected is displayed.

Each discovery item is listed including its file name, the date and time that it was released for discovery by the district attorney, the date and time that the discovery was last downloaded, and the name of the defense attorney who performed the download.

To select a piece of discovery for download, click the check box adjacent to its file name. To deselect the discovery, click the check box again.

To select all discovery listed for download, click the Select All button.

To deselect all selected discovery for download, click the Deselect All button.

To download selected discovery, click the Download button. You will then be prompted to select the directory on your PC for the downloaded discovery.

To print the list of case discovery available for download, click the Print button.

The cumulative file size of the discovery selected and the approximate amount of time for its download is displayed.

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6. Receiving Email Notifications

In order to receive automatic NCAOC Notification Emails the following steps need to be

completed first:

Log into https://www3.nccourts.org and click Manage My User Account

Answer the required fields (*) and the NCAOC Notification Email fields

Enable the NCAOC computer policies checkbox and click the Submit button

o If the first NCAOC Notification Email is delivered to the Spam folder, please mark this

initial email as not Spam and the subsequent NCAOC Notification Email(s) will be

delivered to the Inbox.

https://www3.nccourts.org/

criminal discovery for defense attorneys: setup and usage ......the district attorney, the date and...

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