Windows® PC
QwikLaw Product Literature and User Guide
- Purpose and Overview
- QwikLaw for Palm® Devices
- QwikLaw for Microsoft® Windows® CE Devices
- QwikLaw for Microsoft® Windows® PC
- Conclusion
- Contact Information
Purpose and Overview
QwikLaw was originally designed for North Carolina law enforcement officers who required information regarding statutes, ordinances, controlled substances and other reference materials. Although these materials were contained in several written sources, the officer did not have immediate access to some or all of these resources. Even with "handbooks" and other similar written tools, the officer had to figure out how the particular law(s) were listed before s/he could find them for transcription. Thus, QwikLaw was forged with the goal of, not only having a valuable resource that was updated more frequently, but also utilized the power of a computer to make them easy to access.
The original version of QwikLaw was developed for the Palm® OS and later, for Microsoft® Pocket PC Personal Digital Assistants (PDA). Technological advances have made the PDA faster, more efficient and versatile, not only having the ability to store and retrieve address, schedule and memo data, but are now being combined with other technologies, including digital photography, GPS navigational capabilities, cell phone capabilities, Wi-Fi wireless and the added advantage of portability. QwikLaw capitalizes on this power and portability for the law professional who likes having a version for quick reference when not at the computer station.
Our most recent version of QwikLaw has been designed to operate on Microsoft® Windows® OS. It is a more powerful and comprehensive version of the original version QwikLaw for the Microsoft® Windows® PC. Since most, if not all, legal professionals have access to a desktop or laptop computer, it only made good sense to develop such a version. The PC version of QwikLaw features a friendlier interface, better graphics, greater expansion potential and printing capability.
Whichever version(s) one chooses, QwikLaw stands ready to assist you with your needs. Our design makes it easy to add new law and reference modules, not to mention our updates being more frequent for the latest information. We hope you find YOUR version choice of QwikLaw to be useful, efficient and user-friendly. Your suggestions and requests are always helpful and appreciated so that we can bring you the best product available. QwikLaw is developed exclusively by Conway Software Development (CSD), and our contact information is listed at the end of this manual. Your comments, thoughts and suggestions are important, so please feel free to call, mail or email us.
Loading/Running the Program on the Palm® device
QwikLaw Palm may be downloaded from the website, sent by email or mailed on CD. The program (.prc) and the databases that accompany the program are all included in a .zip file which may be opened into a directory and then loaded, or may be directly selected from within the zip file. Provided the user has the Palm® Desktop Software loaded on their computer, opening the files will cause them to be placed in the Palm® Install Tool included with the Palm® Desktop Software. After performing this step, the next HotSync® session will install the program and databases onto the PDA.
QwikLaw Palm is activated by tapping the program icon that is created when the program is installed. The user will then see the QwikLaw introduction (Splash) screen followed shortly by the main selection screen. "Help" functions have been placed throughout the program to assist the user.
Splash Screen
Upon activating the program, the first screen encountered by the user will always be the "Splash" screen. As you will see, this screen announces the program, copyright information and the PDA user name as the registered user. In the few seconds of display, QwikLaw accesses information that will be used throughout the operation of the program.
Select Option Screen
From the Select Option screen, the user will decide which reference area he/she wishes to access. The user may "tap" the "Laws/ Ordinances" button, the "References" button, the "QwikLaw Info" button or "Beam" the application to another user.
The "Laws/Ordinances" button takes the user onto the "Search for Offense" screen to access the statutes, laws and ordinances. The "References" button opens the "Select Reference" screen where the user will find a listbox containing all of the references included with the program.
The "QwikLaw Info" button gives the user information about the program, as well as, the mailing and web address for QwikLaw inquiries or information. Lastly, the "Beam" button will attempt to transfer the basic demo program to another Palm® device to try QwikLaw Palm.
Laws and Ordinances
The key function and feature of QwikLaw Palm is its Search capability. The "Search for Offenses" screen enables the user to perform searches for laws or ordinances by name or other keyword search, a full or partial statute or code number, or the user may perform a global search for all laws or ordinances under the chosen category.
QwikLaw currently includes the following categories of Statutes and/or Codes: Alcohol, Animal Control, Criminal, Drugs, Marine Fisheries, Miscellaneous, Ordinances, Parks and Recreation, Traffic and Wildlife. For consistency, all of the categories except Ordinances are maintained by Conway Software Development (CSD). Applicable waiver information is included for those offenses that are waiverable, and includes the court costs and fines that must be periodically updated. Ordinances are both added and edited by the end user to allow for input of local ordinances of interest or necessity to the user. If desired by departments or units, these can be entered by CSD and an update module sent for dissemination to the individual units.
To view the laws or ordinances, the user taps a choice on "Select Option" screen to choose the category of law. This action brings up a dialog box where the user may choose to search for a law by name, alias, or simply choose "all" to get the entire list of laws under the chosen category. A name search will list all laws containing the keywords searched for, i.e., "assault" will return all laws containing any reference to the word "assault" in the Criminal category. Likewise, a search by alias will return all laws containing the alias in the database, i.e., ROD will return the law, "Resist Public Officer" in the Criminal category. The "View All" search will return a list of names for every law in the chosen category. This will allow the user to find a law that otherwise may not be found when using a keyword search. If that occurs, the user should notify CSD so that the keyword can be entered for that law or code.
Once the list is displayed, the user may then tap on the particular law or ordinance to have its contents displayed on the "QwikLaw Reference" screen. The program displays the Offense Name, Statute/Ordinance No., Offense Code, Charging Language, Level, Class, whether the offense is required to be fingerprinted (per Judge's orders, for instance), and waiver information if applicable. Also found at the bottom of the "QwikLaw References" screen is an "Elements/Notes" button. This button accesses an Offense Notes screen.
The Offense Notes screen contains the elements of each offense, and any information pertinent to the viewed offense. Elements are the points of each statute or code that must be met in order to charge an offense. The supplemental information may include: Effective dates of the offense, definitions of terms used in the offense, or case studies that are relevant and important to the offense. This information may be lengthy or may not exist at all, however if deeper discussions are necessary, a Reference source may be developed to handle the further discussion.
Many offenses have more than one level of punishment or class of punishment. In this event the Offense Notes will contain the additional punishment information, and an alert box will display when the offense is initially accessed.
References
On the Select screen, a user may choose one of the References buttons that corresponds to the appropriate resource. This listbox displays all of the currently included references, including "Controlled Substances". The "Controlled Substances" database contains a comprehensive list of all six Controlled Substances Schedules. A particular substance can be searched by name, full or partial, in order to locate the drug, determine the schedule number and list the varying degrees of punishment levels and classifications for the subject controlled substance.
Near the bottom of the Controlled Substances display screen is a button for "Offense Classifications". This button will take the user to another screen that lists the different punishment levels and classifications for Sale, Delivery, PWIMSD and Trafficking in the appropriate substances. Once the user has found the drug and obtained the information required, he/she may return to the NC Controlled Substances screen and tap the Offense Charges button to go to the "Drugs" category to select the charge desired. Additionally, the "References" section contains a "Trafficking" reference that provides the user with minimum amounts of substances necessary to constitute trafficking of a particular substance.
Other references currently available to the user include: Domestic Violence, Driver's License Codes, Driver's License and Insurance points, etc. Other references are constantly being developed and will be updated as they become available. If the user has a suggestion, he/she is urged to contact the developer for submission instructions/input.
Loading/Running the Program on the Microsoft® Windows® Pocket PC
QwikLawCE may be downloaded from the website, sent by email or mailed on CD for installation on the Pocket PC device. There are various types of processors and instruction sets that operate on various Pocket PC devices. QwikLawCE installation program must be run from a desktop or laptop PC where Microsoft® ActiveSync® is installed. Once installed, simply tap the program icon on the device to run the program.
QwikLawCE has been developed for operation on the Pocket PC with Intel Processor running the ARM instruction set. Versions for different processors/instruction sets are available, however, due to the limited availability of devices to the developer, these versions will be developed and must be beta-tested before the final version may be compiled and purchased.
Splash Screen
Upon activating the program, the first screen encountered by the user will always be the "Splash" screen. As you will see, this screen announces the program, copyright information and the PDA user name as the registered user. In the few seconds of display, QwikLaw accesses information that will be used throughout the operation of the program.
Select Option Screen
From the Select Option screen, the user will decide which reference area he/she wishes to access. The user may "tap" the "Laws/ Ordinances" button, the "References" button and the "QwikLaw Info" button.
The "Laws/Ordinances" button takes the user onto the "Search for Offense" screen to access the statutes, laws and ordinances. The "References" button opens the "Select Reference" screen where the user will find a listbox containing all of the references included with the program.
The "QwikLaw Info" button gives the user information about the program, as well as, the mailing and web address for QwikLaw inquiries or information.
Laws and Ordinances
The key function and feature of QwikLaw Palm is its Search capability. The "Search for Offenses" screen enables the user to perform searches for laws or ordinances by name or other keyword search, a full or partial statute or code number, or the user may perform a global search for all laws or ordinances under the chosen category.
QwikLaw currently includes the following categories of Statutes and/or Codes: Alcohol, Animal Control, Criminal, Drugs, Marine Fisheries, Miscellaneous, Ordinances, Parks and Recreation, Traffic and Wildlife. For consistency, all categories except Ordinances are maintained by Conway Software Development (CSD). Applicable waiver information is included for those offenses that are waiverable, and includes the court costs and fines that must be periodically updated. Ordinances are both added and edited by the end user to allow for input of local ordinances of interest or necessity to the user. If desired by departments or units, these can be entered by CSD and an update module sent for dissemination to the individual units.
To view the laws or ordinances, the user taps a choice on "Select Option" screen to choose the category of law. This action brings up a dialog box where the user may choose to search for a law by name, alias, or simply choose "all" to get the entire list of laws under the chosen category. A name search will list all laws containing the keywords searched for, i.e., "assault" will return all laws containing any reference to the word "assault" in the Criminal category. Likewise, a search by alias will return all laws containing the alias in the database, i.e., ROD will return the law, "Resist Public Officer" in the Criminal category. The "View All" search will return a list of names for every law in the chosen category. This will allow the user to find a law that otherwise may not be found when using a keyword search. If that occurs, the user should notify CSD so that the keyword can be entered for that law or code.
Once the list is displayed, the user may then tap on the particular law or ordinance to have its contents displayed on the "QwikLaw Reference" screen. The program displays the Offense Name, Statute/Ordinance No., Offense Code, Charging Language, Level, Class, whether the offense is required to be fingerprinted (per Judge's orders, for instance), and waiver information if applicable. Also found at the bottom of the "QwikLaw References" screen is an "Elements/Notes" button. This button accesses an Offense Notes screen.
The Offense Notes screen contains the elements of each offense, and any information pertinent to the viewed offense. Elements are the points of each statute or code that must be met in order to charge an offense. The supplemental information may include: Effective dates of the offense, definitions of terms used in the offense, or case studies that are relevant and important to the offense. This information may be lengthy or may not exist at all, however if deeper discussions are necessary, a Reference source may be developed to handle the further discussion.
Many offenses have more than one level of punishment or class of punishment. In this event the Offense Notes will contain the additional punishment information, and an alert box will display when the offense is initially accessed.
References
On the Select screen, a user may choose one of the References buttons that corresponds to the appropriate resource. This listbox displays all of the currently included references, including "Controlled Substances". The "Controlled Substances" database contains a comprehensive list of all six Controlled Substances Schedules. A particular substance can be searched by name, full or partial, in order to locate the drug, determine the schedule number and list the varying degrees of punishment levels and classifications for the subject controlled substance.
Near the bottom of the Controlled Substances display screen is a button for "Offense Classifications". This button will take the user to another screen that lists the different punishment levels and classifications for Sale, Delivery, PWIMSD and Trafficking in the appropriate substances. Once the user has found the drug and obtained the information required, he/she may return to the NC Controlled Substances screen and tap the Offense Charges button to go to the "Drugs" category to select the charge desired. Additionally, the "References" section contains a "Trafficking" reference that provides the user with minimum amounts of substances necessary to constitute trafficking of a particular substance.
Other references currently available to the user include: Domestic Violence, Driver's License Codes, Driver's License and Insurance points, etc. Other references are constantly being developed and will be updated as they become available. If the user has a suggestion, he/she is urged to contact the developer for submission instructions/input.
Loading/Running the Program on the PC
QwikLawPC may be downloaded from the website or mailed on CD for installation on the Microsoft® Windows® based PC. QwikLawPC utilizes an installer program that will install QwikLawPC on the desktop or laptop computer. Once installed, simply click or tap the program icon to run QwikLawPC.
Splash Screen
Upon activating the desktop icon, the first screen encountered by the user will always be the "Splash" screen. This screen announces the program and begins accessing information that will be used throughout the operation of the program.
Select Category Screen
The next screen to appear is the Select screen from where the user decides which program areas s/he wishes to access. At this point, the user may select Laws/Ordinances, Controlled Substances or References. Clicking on any button will take the user to a search screen where the user may either select desired topics or search using various criteria.
Laws and Ordinances
The key function and feature of QwikLaw is its Search capability. The "Search Laws" interface screen enables the user to perform searches for laws or ordinances. Users may choose to search by name or other keyword search, a full or partial statute or code number, or the user may perform a global search for all laws or ordinances under the chosen category by simply leaving the criteria box blank and clicking "Search".
When the criteria is input, the user clicks the "Search" button which causes a listbox to appear containing all the laws or ordinances corresponding to the search criteria. Depending on the precision of the search, this box may contain few or many records. Obviously, the more precise the user is with the criteria, the fewer records will be returned. Therefore, if the sought after law or ordinance is not found, the search criteria should be broadened.
From the listbox, the user can choose the law or ordinance as desired. The screen will then change to a format that exhibits the details of the law. Details generally include: Offense name, the statute or code number, offense code number, charging language, elements or notes, Class and level of the law or ordinance and applicable waiver information. If desired, the user may print the search list containing all the laws that were revealed by the search, or a detail printout of the subject law or ordinance. This is useful for carrying the necessary information where the computer is not accessible or convenient.
QwikLaw currently includes the following categories of Statutes and/or Codes: Alcohol, Animal Control, Criminal, Drugs, Marine Fisheries, Miscellaneous, Ordinances, Parks and Recreation, Traffic and Wildlife. For consistency, all of the categories except Ordinances are maintained by Conway Software Development (CSD). Applicable waiver information is included for those offenses that are waiverable, and includes the court costs and fines that must be periodically updated. Ordinances are both added and edited by the end user to allow for input of local ordinances of interest or necessity to the user. If desired by departments or units, these can be entered by CSD and an update module sent for dissemination to the individual units.
References
From the Select Category screen, a user may also choose the "References" button. This will take the user to another interface screen designed with buttons on the left side, corresponding with the desired Reference. The top button is Controlled Substances where the user will start a search for a particular Drug by name or keyword. Names such as Marijuana or Marij will produce the information for Marijuana. The information is displayed which includes the Schedule number (Schedule VI for Marijuana) and information regarding the offense nature and classifications such as: Simple possession, PWISD, Trafficking, etc.
During the search for a drug, several possibilities may be located. This might occur if the user is looking for Meth. QwikLaw will produce all of the possible matches and display each detail on the screen. The screen will display "Next Result" and "Previous Result" in small boxes under the main drug display. The user may use these buttons to scroll forward or backward until the desired match is found. Similar to the "Laws and Ordinances" screen, the user may print the detail for future reference.
In addition to the Controlled Substances button, there are four additional references resources. At present, these are: DL Restriction Codes, DMV/Insurance Points, Domestic Violence and Vehicle Seizure Requirements. More are under development and will be added as they are completed. Other resource needs may be considered, so if the user has a suggestion, s/he is urged to contact the developer.
About
Located on all interface screens, is an "About" tab, which renders a screen of information about the program including the website and email for CSD. These addresses are accessible when PC has an active Internet connection, and may be used to submit questions, problems, comments and hopefully, great suggestions. CSD encourages all input.
Conclusion
It is hoped that this product description will help illustrate the capabilities of QwikLaw. As was stated in the beginning, there are several resources in print form that house the various laws, elements and charging language that are vital knowledge for the law professional. Integrated with the power of a computer and search capabilities to allow fast and thorough access to those resources when needed, makes QwikLaw a highly functional and indispensable tool.
As is well known, laws and codes are constantly being added and/or changed constantly. QwikLaw is designed to accommodate these database management needs. This careful attention to detail and structure, as well as, the ever-growing abilities and speed of the computer, will serve to meet the needs of officers, judges, lawyers and others who will, no doubt, come to depend on QwikLaw.
Contact Information
If further information or demonstration of the QwikLaw program is desired, please do not hesitate to contact me by telephone, email or regular mail.
Bruce A. Conway
Conway Software Development
313 Laurel Road
Beaufort, NC 28516
(252) 504-3518 (home)
(252) 241-5003 (cell)
