Circuit Court expands eFiling-- Two family division judges join in 'paperless' case system

Oakland County's award-winning eFiling program, which has saved a tower of paper 13 stories tall, is expanding to the Oakland County Circuit Court's Family Division. On May 1, Family Division Judges Joan Young and James M. Alexander will join eight other Oakland County Circuit Court judges in the eFiling program, which requires attorneys to electronically file and serve court documents, creating "paperless" court files. The Family Division handles matters involving divorce, adoption, juvenile abuse and neglect, juvenile delinquency, personal protection orders and conservatorships and guardianships for minors. During the pilot program, eFiling cases in the Family Division will be limited to divorce cases which do not involve children. "We're thrilled to see this nationally recognized program expand," said Oakland County Clerk Ruth Johnson, who worked in conjunction with the Oakland County Circuit Court and the county's IT Division to launch eFiling in 2007. "EFiling puts technology to work, makes us more efficient and saves money--it's a win-win-win." "This is very exciting for us," said Young. "EFiling is environmentally responsible and more convenient for our legal community. The Oakland County Circuit Court has been a leader at putting technology to work and expanding our use of eFiling into the Family Division just makes sense. This pilot will allow us to identify and remedy any hurdles before the program expands to other Family Division judges." To date, nearly 100,000 documents--an average of four pages each--have been filed electronically. More than 3,200 law firms, including 8,300 attorneys and their staff members, have been trained on the system. Today, Circuit Court Judges Michael Warren, Nanci J. Grant, Wendy Potts, Mark A. Goldsmith, Rudy J. Nichols, Martha D. Anderson, Shalina Kumar, and Colleen O'Brien all preside over many eFiling cases. EFiling, one of the first programs of its kind at the county level, earned a prestigious 2009 Achievement Award from the National Association of Counties as one of the most innovative new programs in the country. While eFiling technology had been utilized in federal court and in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Oakland County was the first to venture so deeply into the eFiling arena by partnering with a private company, which provides the Internet-based eFiling system. Attorneys pay a small convenience fee, to cover costs, to file and serve documents electronically. The majority of civil case types are included in the program, including negligence, medical malpractice, personal injury, labor relations and contract dispute cases. "I just had my first eFiling case and it was great," said attorney Kurt Schnelz, president of the Oakland County Bar Association. "It's a fast and convenient way to litigate and can save attorneys the trip to the county for filings. It was easy - even for a technology-challenged person like me." "I'm like the lawyers--excited but nervous," said Alexander. "We need to utilize the technology available to us in order to save money and increase efficiency. EFiling gives us the ability to do it. Being technologically challenged, however, presents me with quite a challenge." "People expect convenient, affordable and timely access to the courts," said Oakland County Circuit Court Chief Judge J. Nanci Grant. "They expect that technologies will be implemented to provide such access. EFiling is one of many technologies we use to deliver on their expectations." Prior to the launch of eFiling at the Oakland County Circuit Court, all documents were filed in a traditional manner. Attorneys or their representatives would drive to the courthouse and wait in line at the Clerk's Office. At the counter, clerks would accept legal filings and required fees. Documents would be scanned into the system and paper copies were used as cases moved forward. On hearing days, boxes of legal documents would be picked up from the Clerk's Office and delivered, by hand, to individual members of the bench. "Traditional filings take about seven minutes in our office, but we can accept and process electronically filed pleadings in less than a minute," said Johnson. "Better yet, once the document has been accepted, it is almost immediately available." Published: Tue, Apr 13, 2010

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