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METATOMIX PROVIDES REAL-TIME JUDICIAL INTEGRATION SOLUTION

Metatomix Inc announced that the Florida Supreme Court, Office of State Courts Administrator, has selected Metatomix Inc to deliver a next-generation Judicial Integration Solution for the Florida Supreme Court system. The innovative Metatomix solution enables the first seamless, cross-agency, real- time information-sharing system for the Florida Courts. The system will be used by Florida judges to achieve a real-time, centralized, unified view and understanding of all pertinent information from across numerous database systems -- knowledge necessary for effective court case sentencing and processing.

The Metatomix system automatically integrates and streamlines access to data sources across multiple Florida agencies, providing a richer, unified information set for Florida judges to leverage during judicial proceedings, while also allowing the participating agencies to retain control of their own data sources. The richer information set, provided through the Metatomix metadata framework, dramatically improves judges' decision-making capabilities, critical to court case management, processing, and disposition, by providing real-time access to all relevant information regardless of where or how that information is maintained. The real-time search access provided by the Metatomix system reduces search time from two to three days to two to three minutes, saving time and cost throughout courts.

Courts nationwide face a critical challenge every day. The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) calls it "a fundamental flaw in the justice decision-making paradigm -- immediate access to timely, accurate, and complete information." Metatomix's unique technology addresses this challenge for the Florida Supreme Court by enabling inter-agency communication through the integration, correlation and automation of information from multiple Florida agencies including the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Florida Department of Corrections, the Florida Association of County Clerks, the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice and the Leon County Clerk's Office.

The integration and correlation of information from multiple disparate agency systems provides a richer information set to judges and government employees, enabling them to dramatically increase their ability to make more informed decisions in a timely manner. In addition, the Metatomix system enables seamless interagency communication, while simultaneously ensuring that independent agencies retain control of their own data sources. Only Metatomix develops its solutions on innovative Semantic Web-based technology, enabling the Florida Supreme Court to leverage a seamless integration solution with unprecedented capabilities to improve public safety, increase case flow and reduce backlogs throughout Florida courts.

The Metatomix solution for the Florida Supreme Court will ultimately provide thousands of employees in the Florida Courts system with a solution for data integration and single-query, access-controlled information sharing across multiple agencies, with plans for rapid increase to 25 agencies. The "Judicial Inquiry System," Florida Supreme Court's name for the Metatomix system, will enable judges and government employees to access a cross-agency unified view of pertinent background data on any individual within the court system. This data was previously difficult or even impossible to access given the multi-agency, multi-data store complexity of today's court systems.

In a recent statement by the Secretary of Homeland Security, Tom Ridge, at the Public Preparedness Symposium on July 20, he reiterated the importance of integration in the quest for protecting our nation. "Homeland security is about the integration of a country," said Ridge. "It's about the integration of a nation. tate and local governments, communities, businesses, nonprofit organizations, academic community and citizens all coming together around a shared goal of protecting our nation and safeguarding our people from those who would seek to do us harm." The Florida Supreme Court supports this directive and demonstrates progress toward this nationwide initiative through its selection of Metatomix technology for its innovative Judicial Integration Solution.

As a leader in the effort to continually improve the ability of the Florida Court system to deliver efficient and effective decisions, Judge Charles Francis, chief judge, second judicial court, has been a key driver toward the definition and delivery of this landmark system. "The Metatomix system will play a significant role in reducing case backlogs and improving case flow, as well as delivering more informed decisions in Florida courts," said Judge Francis. "Through the use of Metatomix's advanced ERI technology, the Florida Judicial System will benefit from a solution that provides single- point access to critical information from across a variety of state agencies, enabling a more complete picture of any individual on trial, than ever before possible."

"It is a pleasure to partner with the Florida Supreme Court and provide its Judicial Inquiry System," said Robert F. Angelo, chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Metatomix Inc. "Leveraging the Semantic Web, our interoperability technology streamlines cross-agency information sharing in real-time. We are proud to help improve the judicial process in Florida by ensuring that authorized users get the fast, simplified access they need to pertinent decision-making information. We look forward to the successful growth of the Judicial Inquiry System and a long relationship with the Office of Florida State Courts Administrator, one of our country's most forward- thinking court systems."