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Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Ind. Courts - "Indiana Supreme Court Gives Stamp of Approval to Lake County and Marion County Electronic Filing Plans"

The heading is from a story by James Walker and James F. Maguire in the March issue of Indiana Court Times. Some quotes from the lengthy story:

This past December the Indiana Supreme Court approved separate requests by the Lake County and the Marion County courts to implement an electronic filing system on a limited and trial basis. Lake and Marion are the first counties to implement an electronic filing system under Administrative Rule 16. Each county intends in 2010 to accept pleadings and court documents, and to send notices, by electronic means. Lake County is scheduled to begin their pilot project in February. They will limit electronic filing to only mortgage foreclosure cases. Mortgage foreclosure filings are randomly assigned to each court in Lake County, so the plan will be effective in all courtrooms.

Marion County will allow for electronic filing in both mortgage foreclosure cases and civil collection cases. Thirteen courtrooms will allow electronic filings: Marion Circuit Court and Marion Superior Court, Civil Divisions One through Seven, and Ten through Fourteen.

In each county, all registered users of the electronic filing system will be able to remotely access documents in mortgage foreclosure cases. But, in Marion County, only the registered users who are actual parties to a collection case will be able to remotely access court documents.

Registered users include attorneys, members of the news media, commercial users (such as title companies, banks, and mortgage companies), judges and their staff, court administrative staff and technical support staff, and self-represented litigants, who enter into a User Agreement with the court.

Lake County will utilize a self-contained system to file and serve documents in the court’s case management system, CourtView, through their Lake County Online Docket (LCOD). Marion County will utilize the services of the Lexis-Nexis File & Serve System (LNFS), an outside vendor.

In both counties registered users must sign an agreement and pay fees to utilize the electronic filing and service system. Each county plan protects confidential information and sealed documents as required by Administrative Rule 9. Both plans also provide assistance to self-represented litigants who choose to utilize the electronic filing system. There are opt-out provisions for parties who want to use traditional paper filings and service. * * *

Many court observers predict that all courts will one day use Electronic-Filing and Electronic-Service. A few jurisdictions have already implemented a statewide system, including: Colorado, Delaware, and Minnesota. For several years most of the federal courts have been linked to PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records). It is a system maintained by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, with a separate URL for each Court. It includes federal district, appellate and bankruptcy courts. Their website can be found at pacer.psc.uscourts.gov.

Technology presents our Indiana courts with some exciting opportunities. We hope that many courts take advantage of the opportunity to begin a pilot project. We are ready, willing and eager to assist our courts in setting up a project that meets the requirements of Administrative Rule 16. While we know that one size does not fit all counties, we are developing a model for other counties that want to establish an electronic-filing plan. We will work to serve the individual needs of our courts on a county-by-county basis.

Apparently this project is unrelated to the Supreme Court's JTAC Odyssey project to link up the over 400 Indiana courts and put their dockets online, which at last report covers 50 courts in 18 counties.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on March 16, 2010 01:40 PM
Posted to Indiana Courts