By age 14, the 16-year- old boy now standing in the back of Judge Hargreaves's courtroom was already in the databases of several local and county agencies. His name and misdeeds were recorded in the juvenile department's AS/400, which stood in a crowded storage room dwarfed by government-issue file cabinets. The Children's Services Division had investigated a report of possible abuse filed by a concerned teacher. Its findings were recorded on the ancient tracks of a S/36. The case worker, frustrated with the limitations of the system, added the boy to the loosely organized records of his desktop PC. The police department had its own computer. Two incidents of domestic violence at the boy's home and a burglary investigation were registered in its RS/6000.

These agencies, as a matter of technical limitation, did not share their data. Hence, the picture each agency had of the boy was incomplete. The court, which had its own growing list of computer entries detailing the boy's appearances, directed his providence based on the best available information. A more complete picture may have tempered punishment with counseling, confinement with family intervention.

"To be fully effective," John Maguire told me, "the courts must be integrated; able to share the data of supporting agencies." In his present capacity at IBM, it is Maguire's job to provide that integration. He has a title that is the delight of every writer being paid by the word: Managing Consultant, Public Safety and Justice, IBM Government Systems. More accurately, he represents the "Justice" portion of that equation, heading a small unit with global aspirations. Although its name sounds like a canceled TVseries, the Justice Team exists to provide a full spectrum of customized software and consulting services to the world's courts.

The group is comprised of twelve consultants, a dozen marketing experts, six developers, and an equal number of legal beagles in Europe and Asia Pacific. They develop complete, individualized court management systems, from executive planning to end-user documentation. Although justice solutions can be customized to run on a variety of platforms, the AS/400 and RS/6000 have such a wide install base among state and local agencies that they are key midrange platforms for court management applications.

"Automation is not enough," explained Maguire. "We help our customers examine their processes and identify areas that need improvement; areas that can most benefit from information technology." One of the group's notable successes is a 39-month, $25 million effort in Pennsylvania. There, the Justice Team installed a state-wide network linking some 30 AS/400s to track the burgeoning case load of the state's Limited Jurisdiction Courts.

Key to supporting the courts is an understanding of how judicial systems work and the ability to translate judicial requirements into a language developers can understand. That is the function of Maguire's consultants, some of whom possess formidable legal credentials.

Jim Hargreaves is a new member of the team, having joined IBM after serving twenty-one years as a judge in the Pacific Northwest. Meeting him, I was struck by his unexpected lack of cynicism. After two decades of dealing with the seamy side of human deportment, his eyes remain enduringly kind and quick to humor.

"The problem with the legal system is that half the people don't want it to work right," Hargreaves told me over breakfast. This morning he is eating oatmeal, which suggests, if not crime, then certainly punishment to me. I wanted to find out why, at the apex of a promising career on the Circuit Court, he left the bench to join IBM and help develop court management systems? It turns out that his commitment to children was part of the answer.

Hargreaves graduated from the University of Oregon School of Law in 1968. After a brief stint in legal aid, he opened a private practice. Shortly thereafter, he discovered an untimely personal impediment to being an attorney: "I hated conflict," he said. He didn't much care for clients either. What to do?

The answer came in 1975 in the form of an opening on the District Court. The position was more suited to his nature. "Judges solve problems," he said, "lawyers argue about them."

In 1977, the more prestigious Circuit Court provided an opportunity. But after a decade of referencing legal gymnastics and enduring the contortions of career no-goodnicks, Hargreaves got fed up with "the progression of process over problem solving. There are only so many excuses," he said, "only so many police conspiracies you can listen to."

In 1989, he volunteered for a rotation in juvenile court. There he rekindled his passion for the law, finally able to make the kind of contribution he wanted. "It was the best and the worst of experiences. The abuse and neglect tear your heart out; but I felt I contributed more in five years than in my entire preceeding career."

He became committed to providing consistency for youth floating without rudder or anchor. "I never raised my voice," he recalled, "but I made it very clear what the consequences of specific behaviors would be." Working with child welfare agencies, he fought for the children, applying the power of the court in support of the powerless.

As his rotation in Juvenile Court was coming to an end, Hargreaves realized he had no desire to return to civil law, and looked for an opportunity to advocate for children.

Attending a conference of the National Association of Court Managers in Portland, Oregon, Hargreaves met IBM's Mary-Lu Holter, who was trolling for legal expertise. She astutely recognized Hargreaves as a keeper and invited him to interview with Maguire in Bethesda, Maryland. Hargreaves recognized the opportunity to advocate for children in a different fashion: to help develop the essential support systems that would provide judges with all the information they need to help troubled youth.

Hargreaves whimsically calls himself a "Subject Matter Expert," which would make an elegantly vague business card. In his consulting capacity, he hopes to work with juvenile courts across the nation, identifying their needs and automating their processes to prepare them for what The Atlantic calls a "long descending night" of juvenile crime. Maguire has already identified two such opportunities for him.

The AS/400 and its legendary networking capabilities will play a part in the automation and integration of justice systems. With relative ease, it was able to link the court's system with the juvenile department's AS/400, the Children's Services S/36, the case worker's PC, the police department's RS/6000, and the assortment of non-IBM equipment found in government offices.

Hargreaves job will be to interface between customers and the development team, which constructs solutions using object-oriented programming (OOP). The Justice Team's strategic direction is to leverage IBM's object-oriented development tools, which not only decrease application delivery time but allow a more intimate and continuous customer involvement in the development process.

In retrospect, how does Hargreaves view his decision to leave the bench? He claimed to be "having fun for the first time in years." His face supports that claim. It also bears an enduring pride born of making a difference in the lives of those seemingly beyond reach.

The 16-year-old boy stood patiently at the back of the courtroom, waiting a long time for the judge to finish the day's proceedings. Hargreaves recognized him from his many past appearances. When the court finally adjourned, the boy approached. "You know all those times you told me to get a life?" asked the boy.

"Yes," answered the judge.

"Well, I did."

Victor Rozek has 17 years experience in the data processing industry, including seven years with IBM in Operations Management and Systems Engineering.