Improving Judicial Administration Through Implementation of an Automated Sentencing Guidelines System

To ensure public trust and confidence, courts must routinely examine the management of their operations and continuously explore improvement opportunities. Although technology can be a catalyst for improving judicial administration, without the requisite planning, organizational capital (e.g., people, process, and system alignment), and evaluation it is unlikely that such initiatives will be sustained let alone succeed. In 2012, a local circuit court in Maryland implemented the Maryland Automated Guidelines System (MAGS) developed by the Maryland State Commission on Criminal Sentencing Policy to electronically initiate, complete, and submit sentencing guidelines worksheets. This study discusses the evaluation of MAGS implementation, highlighting the value of technology and monitoring as a means to enhance judicial administration.