Justice Department computer: Late and over budget

It's no surprise to anyone who works at the Justice Department that its computer system is outdated and over expensive. But to the public, it's just another example of a government tech program that has wasted money and hasn't made the grade.

A new report from Justice Department Inspector General Glenn Fine found that a plan to update the Justice Department's computer system was late--two years behind schedule, in fact. It's no surprise either that it's almost $20 million over budget.

Wow! How could this happen? Officials launched the project in 2004 to streamline the different types of case files used by the department. To complicate matters, the department has seven different litigating divisions, and each has its own case management system. The new system is supposed to integrate them, at least when it's installed and working.

Justice Department officials said they agree with Fine's recommendation to reevaluate whether they should move forward with this project or to halt it. So the question now is whether this will be just another government project that wasted time and plenty of tax-payer dollars before it was dropped.

For more on this dilemma:
- check out this Associated Press article