The Nye County justice system will be going high tech soon after commissioners Tuesday approved an early Christmas electronic buying spree totaling $238,887.

The goodies include an INFAX Docket Call for the Pahrump Justice Court. It will display the court calendar for the day electronically at the courthouse, with the defendant's name, case number, courtroom and hearing time.

That will replace a docket sheet hanging on the wall at the courthouse next to the justice court clerk's window, which is probably ignored by most defendants who inquire about their case with the clerks.

The cost for the two displays is $30,180, which will each be on 40-inch flat-panel LCD monitors. The system will be tied in to the court's case management system and updated in real time.

Pahrump Justice of the Peace Tina Brisebill unsuccessfully asked for six deputy court clerks recently.

Pahrump Justice Court Administrator Kathy Ivey outlined the advantages of the system to commissioners.

"The docket call system is very similar to what you see when you go into an airport and lets you know the status of your planes. This lets you know the status of your court case. The advantage of this system, as we continue to grow, it will direct people in the courtroom without having long lines at the clerk's window to find out where they have to go," Ivey said.

The system could be expanded to include more justice courts or district court, she said. Nye County Information Technology Director Milan Dimac said the courthouse addition is being wired to accommodate the system.

Another innovation will be installing cameras in the courtroom to record witnesses as part of an $84,134 contract with Jefferson Audi Video Systems Inc.

The cost of installation will be $20,700.

Ivey said the compact discs will last all day. The present audio system sometimes doesn't function properly in the morning, she said.

"This is a system where the cameras in the courtroom are controlled by who's speaking, so the cameras would be directed on the person who's speaking at the time. It's a more complete record and it could possibly reduce the need for court reporters in the future," Ivey said.

Gil Muise, collections manager for the justice court, lauded the REV-Q case management system used to identify and collect payments due the court. That will cost $20,620 plus annual fees of $2,100.

"The current system requires a lot of manual reviewing of files," Ivey said.

Muise said the collection system is labor intensive.

"I have to physically touch every case that I'm working, that involves, between Beatty and Pahrump Justice Court, about 2,500 cases," he said.

Muise said the REV-Q system will allow him to put in a collection alert to start a payment system, with addresses, the payment owed, payment plan and other information. It can be programmed to generate warrants if necessary.

Muise said since the Pahrump Justice Court began a collections program under his predecessor Kathy Minor in 2002, $650,000 has been collected.

"We currently have over 1,500 cases on accounts receivable. They have to be closely monitored all the time," Ivey said.

Commissioner Joni Eastley said Brisebell told her the system might allow for a 20 to 25 percent increase in collections.

Eastley prodded her fellow commissioners: "I'm asking all the questions here, does anybody have any questions?"

The biggest ticket was for the JustWare Prosecutor case management system for the district attorney's office.

Commissioners awarded a $146,020 contract to New Dawn Technologies. Eastley said it was a pet project of hers, upgrading the district attorney's case management system which is now done by hand on three-inch by five-inch cards.

Prosecutors will be able to look up cases by a defendant's name, victim's name, a date the case was filed and other information. JustWare Prosecutor is used in the Clark, Churchill, Lyon and Carson City district attorney's offices.

"We need this system to effectively communicate, interface with other criminal justice agencies," Nye County Chief Prosecutor Kirk Vitto said.

The software will allow the district attorney's office to monitor forfeitures, Vitto said, like the $350,000 in property accused drug trafficker Guerino Cristalo forfeited to the sheriff's office Tuesday.

Vitto said he'd also be able to better monitor what is going on in the district attorney's office.

"As our county grows, as the time to treat repeat offenders and criminals in the manner the law allows, they should be approached with their criminal history. It will allow tracking of those cases to be done more effectively and efficiently," Vitto said.

The case will be entered in the computer system, beginning at the time a suspect is booked into the county jail, Eastley said. The case information is then automatically transferred to justice court, district court and the DA's office, she said.

Ivey said the system will interface with the justice court system, Court View.

"I'm thrilled. I want to thank my colleagues. This is something I have wanted for many, many years," Eastley said.

The contracts were all bankrolled by a capital projects fund from the $11.5 million in payment equal to taxes the U.S. Department of Energy gave Nye County for the land value of Yucca Mountain this year. Eastley has expressed concern recently over the continued funding of this program by the DOE.