"Electronic Signatures" considered by Michigan Supreme Court

Court continues to contemplate other possible rule changes defining "court records"; public comment period for those proposals extended to September 1, 2012 A proposed rule that would specifically allow the use of electronic signatures on court records is under consideration by the Michigan Supreme Court. The proposed change to Michigan Court Rule 1.109(D) (ADM File No. 2006-47) defines "signature" to include "a written signature ... or an electronic signature," defined as "an electronic sound, symbol, or process, attached to or logically associated with a record and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the record." A staff comment explains that the proposed change is intended to reflect "the use of electronic technology in the way courts process records." The possible amendment is the only part of ADM 2006-47 that the Court will hear comments on tomorrow. For other proposed court rule changes in ADM 2006-47, the Court has extended the public comment period to September 1, 2012. Among other matters, the detailed proposal includes proposed definitions of "court records" and "public records," and has provisions that would govern access to court records. Other sections of the proposal address access and reproduction fees for public records, and record retention periods. For the complete text of the proposal and instructions for submitting comments, see http://courts.michigan.gov/supremecourt/Resources/Administrative/2006-47_2011-12-21_order.pdf. The proposals for all public hearing items and their related comments are available online at http://courts.michigan.gov/supremecourt/Resources/Administrative/index.htm#proposed. Published: Thu, May 24, 2012