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<\/a><\/p>\nStarting last week, the court transitioned from a system called Odyssey to eCourt. The system was taken offline for several days, with a scheduled return date of April 1.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat turned out to be an April Fool\u2019s joke because it didn\u2019t go online,\u201d attorney Scott Baly said.<\/p>\n
Baly said that for a time his office was \u201cin the dark\u201d about how to advise clients on basic information, such as when to appear.<\/p>\n
Online access has been slow to return, causing confusion around the courthouse, Baly said. Access to search by name or case number did not return until last Friday, two days behind schedule. The court still has not fully updated new filings.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe understand that the transition to a new case management impacts all our court users,\u201d court CEO Dawn Annino told GV Wire through a spokesperson. \u201cThe decision was not made lightly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Annino said several factors were considered in making the change, such as security, configurability, cost, system performance, customer service, underlying technology, data storage efficiency, and direct interface capability. Half the trial courts in California use eCourt, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe court is not surprised to hear that our customers do not care for the new system, yet. Change is hard, but the new system is more streamlined and easier to use than our past system. Once our customers get familiar with eCourt we believe they will find it more user-friendly,\u201d Annino said.<\/p>\n
The switch involved 5 million cases and 18 million documents, the court said.<\/p>\n
Attorneys Not Happy<\/p>\n
\u201cWe haven\u2019t been able to do s- -t with the Fresno County court system.\u201d \u2014 Attorney Shanna Hesketh<\/p>\n The transition to the new system is not going smoothly inside the courthouse either. Baly said there was a long line outside the clerk\u2019s office at the main court for defendants to learn basic information about their case.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople were just wanting to know, where do I go? Where is my case? Am I going to get a bench warrant if I don\u2019t appear where I\u2019m supposed to appear? My understanding is the court had trouble keeping up with the speed,\u201d Baly said.<\/p>\n Several other attorneys expressed displeasure. One, who spoke on background, said the new system was hard to search and the attorney was \u201ctoo frustrated to figure it out.\u201d<\/p>\n Fresno attorney Shanna Hesketh, owner of Trauma Law California, which specializes in personal injury and criminal defense, said the new system is \u201cnot as user-friendly on the attorney side.\u201d<\/p>\n She was one of several attorneys confused on the switchover date of April 1, not sure which courtroom to appear in.<\/p>\n \u201cThe clerks did seem very stressed on that April 1 date while all of these changes were being made,\u201d Hesketh said.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Shanna-Hesketh-Headshot-300X300-150x150.jpg\")
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