Statutes

To show the Statutes screen, navigate to Left navigation  System Administration  Statutes:

System Administration menu with an arrow pointing to the Statutes link

On the Statutes Search screen, you can search for, edit, and add new statutes:

Add statute configuration screen

  1. Enter the search criteria for a statute you want to search for.

  2. Click Search. Search results show in the bottom section.

  3. Click a Section No. link in the search results to edit the section.

  4. Click New Statute to create a new statute.

Search results

Statutes include these main parts listed in statute search results, plus other information:

  • Section Number

  • Section Name

  • Short Name

  • Code

  • Category

  • Classification

Add or edit a statute

Add a new statute by clicking New Statute in the Statute Search screen.

Edit a statute by clicking Statute No. link in the search results of the Statute Search screen.

The following options are available when adding or editing a statute:

Add statute configuration screen

Among these options, Config Code, Section Number, and Status are required, while Config Code must also be unique.

When Race-blind Charging is activated, select RBC Exempt to prevent the Race-blind Charging process from applying to cases charging this statute.

The RBC Exempt checkbox on the Add Statute screen

Lookup lists

Dropdown options for some fields are configured to show values from the following Lookup Lists:

Statute field Lookup List name

Source

STATUTE_SOURCE

Category

STATUTE_CATEGORY

Subcategory

STATUTE_SUBCATEGORY

Report Category

STATUTE_REPORT_CATEGORY

Classification

STATUTE_CLASSIFICATION

Collection fields

The Statute Reporting Categories panel, Keywords panel, and Fines, Bails, and Sentencing Guidelines panel are shown on the New Statute screen

Collection fields available on a statute consist of the following entity types and are configured in the panels on the Add Statute screen:

  • Statute Reporting Categories.

    • Jurisdiction (Lookup List: JURISDICTIONS).

    • Type (Required).

    • Category (Lookup List: STATUTE_CATEGORY).

    • Value (Required).

  • Keywords:

    The Add Keywords Panel in the New Statute screen

  • Fines, Bails, and Sentencing Guidelines:

    Fines

Charging language

Charging language allows you to add static or template charging language to your statutes. The charging language shows on the Charges screen and can be used in the charging process.

Add static charging language

  1. Open the Statute screen.

  2. Click Charging Language to show the Charge Language screen:

    Empty Charge Language screen

  3. Add the language to be shown on the charge screen and used in the charging process.

  4. Click Save.

Add template charging language

Template charging language allows you to add placeholders to the charging language that the system replaces during the charging process. Placeholders consist of Keywords and Charge metadata. Placeholders can be manipulated using Tools.

To create template charging language:

  1. Open the Statute screen.

  2. Click Add Keyword.

  3. Use the Keywords panel to create prompts for data from the user:

    Keyword panel with Weapon keyword added

    1. In the Name field, enter the keyword name.

    2. In the Label field, enter the keyword label.

    3. In the Type dropdown, select the keyword type. The options include:

      • Date

      • Date Time

      • Time

      • Decimal

      • Integer

      • Enum (select from a list of values)

      • Lookup List

      • Text Area

      • Text

      • Check Box

    4. Select Required if the keyword must be present.

  4. Click Charging Language to show the Charge Language screen.

    Empty Charge Language screen

  5. Add the basic language to show on the Charge screen and use in the charging process.

    On or about [DATE], at or near [LOCATION], in the [JURISDICTION],
the defendant, [NAME], while under the influence of [SUBSTANCE],
a controlled substance, did willfully and unlawfully commit an
assault upon [VICTIM(S)] by means likely to produce [HARM], to
wit: by striking them with a [WEAPON], a deadly weapon, in
violation of Section 240 and 245(a)(1) of the State Penal Code.

To use keywords to replace placeholders in the charge language:

  1. Click the Keywords tab.

  2. Highlight the text to replace in the charge language:

    Use keywords to replace placeholders in the charge language

  3. Click the keyword to replace the highlighted text with the keyword.

    On or about [DATE], at or near [LOCATION], in the [JURISDICTION],
the defendant, [NAME], while under the influence of <Substance>,
a controlled substance, did willfully and unlawfully commit an
assault upon [VICTIM(S)] by means likely to produce <Harm>, to
wit: by striking them with a <Weapon>, a deadly weapon, in
violation of Section 240 and 245(a)(1) of the State Penal Code.

To add charge metadata in place of count-specific charging language:

  1. Click the Metadata tab.

  2. Expand the Charge Metadata section

  3. Highlight the text to replace in the charge language.

  4. Click the metadata fields to replace highlighted text with metadata fields.

    On or about $charge.chargeDate, at or near $charge.location, in
the $charge.locationJurisdictionLabel, the defendant,
$charge.defendantFml, while under the influence of <substance>,
a controlled substance, did willfully and unlawfully commit an
assault upon $charge.victims by means likely to produce <harm>,
to wit: by striking them with a <weapon>, a deadly weapon, in
violation of Section 240 and 245(a)(1) of the State Penal Code.

  5. Use tools and functions from the Tools tab to further manipulate the charge language:

    On or about $dateTool.format('MMMM d, yyyy', $charge.chargeDate),
at or near $charge.location, in the $charge.locationJurisdictionLabel,
the defendant, $charge.defendantFml, while under the influence of
<substance>, a controlled substance, did willfully and unlawfully
commit an assault upon $charge.victims by means likely to produce
<harm>, to wit: by striking them with a <weapon>, a deadly weapon,
in violation of Section 240 and 245(a)(1) of the State Penal Code.
Formatting dates

One of the most important formatting tools is $dateTool.format('format', date). This tool allows dates to be formatted based on the requirements of the charging language. Formatting is done using these symbols:

Symbol

Meaning

M

Month in year (8)

MM

Month in year (08)

MMM

Month in year (Aug)

MMMM

Month in year (August)

d

Day in month

y

Year

h

hour in am/pm (1~12)

a

am/pm marker

H

Hour in day (0~23)

m

Minute in hour

s

Second in minute

z

Time zone

E

Day in week (Tue)

EEEE

Day in week (Tuesday)

F

Day of week in month (2)

w

Week in year

W

Week in month

'

Escape for text

''

Single quote

Bulk add or edit a statute

You can add or edit Statutes in bulk with a Microsoft Excel file. This feature helps you manage many Statutes for use cases like:

  • Configuring initial Statutes.

  • Applying legislative changes.

  • Standardizing Statute charging language.

Procedure

  1. Download the statuteImportTemplate.xls file.

  2. Open the downloaded spreadsheet.

  3. Follow the steps on the Instructions sheet, to enter Statues on the Statutes Template sheet.

  4. Right-click the Statutes Template sheet and select Move or Copy.

  5. Select Create a Copy.

  6. In the To book: field, enter (new book).

  7. Click OK.

  8. In the new book, save the sheet as an Excel 97-2003 Workbook (*.xls) file at the location of your choice.

  9. Open eProsecutor Online in your browser.

  10. Navigate to Left navigation  System Administration  Statutes.

  11. Click Import All Statutes as XLS.

  12. Click Choose File.

  13. Select the saved book file.

  14. Click Import to see a list of all Statutes to import or update.

  15. Click Confirm to finish importing the Statutes.