New CIO Takes Reins with New Strategic Plan

Heather L. Pettit, a “strong technologist as well as business leader,” has hit the ground running as the new chief information officer for the California Judicial Council, the rule-making arm of the state judiciary.

Pettit, who has more than 20 years’ experience in IT, previously served as CIO for the the Contra Costa Superior Court and the Sacramento Superior Court. Before that, she held technology leadership positions in the private sector.

The Judicial Council’s Chief Operating Officer Robert Oyung, who had been CIO until his promotion to COO last December, filled both executive positions in the interim before Pettit’s appointment this month.



“We’re excited to have Heather as our new CIO,” Oyung said in an email to Techwire. “‘Innovate Through IT Community’ is one of our strategic goals for technology. Heather has built strong relationships with the courts, state agencies, and other partners within California as well as with courts and other organizations across the nation.”

Pettit is also a faculty member of the National Center for State Courts and is certified to teach two courses: Managing Technology and Resources; and Strategic Planning and Visioning. She has been a member of the Judicial Council Information Technology Advisory Committee and an active leader in the California Court Information Technology Management Forum (CITMF) and the national Court Information Technology Officers Consortium (CITOC). 

Said Oyung: “She’s a strong technologist and business leader who will focus on increasing access to justice through technology solutions.” 

Vendors interested in the Judicial Council's RFPs and other procurement-related information can find them online. 

Pettit’s appointment came right after publication of the judicial branch’s 2019-2022 strategic plan, which lays out its priorities, strategies and tactics for achieving its four goals:

• Promote the Digital Court
• Innovate Through IT Community
• Advance IT Security and Infrastructure
• Promote Rule and Legislative Changes

The new plan — the first update to the initial judicial branch technology strategic plan of 2014–2018 — has been described as “a roadmap out of the ruins” of a failed 10-year, half-billion-dollar effort to link all courts in the state into one massive entity called the Court Case Management System. The state discontinued that system in 2012.