MI: Supreme Court order permits e-filing pilot testing

The Michigan Supreme Court has granted permission for a pilot e-filing project in the state. Administrative Order 2010-6 permits Macomb County to try the pilot "to study the effectiveness
of electronically filing court documents in lieu of traditional paper filings...All state courts in Michigan are envisioned as eventually permitting e-filing (with appropriate modifications and
improvements)." The project began January 1 and is authorized until December 2012. (h/t Michigan Lawyer)

CTC 2011 Call for Ideas and Participation

The National Center for State Courts - Court Technology Conference 2011 has issued a call for ideas and presentations.  CTC 2011 will be held in Long Beach, California from  October 4 – 6, 2011

The Court Technology Conference (CTC) attracts a diverse domestic and international audience of Judicial Officers, Court Managers, Court Clerks, and Technologists.  The National Center for State Courts (NCSC) is seeking ideas for presentations that stimulate the conference attendees to action in using technology to resolve problems and enhance service.

NCSC invites practitioners, scholars and the private sector to participate in the educational programs at the Court Technology Conference 2011. The focus as always is on innovative implementations of technologies to all aspects of court business.  There is an emphasis on how technologies transform all levels of courts, all sizes of courts, all types of cases, and the work by members of the court and constituent communities.

Detailed information on submitting a presentation at CTC 2011 can be downloaded (PDF) by clicking HERE.

All submissions for the conference must be made through the conference submission survey at: http://www.ncsc.org/ctc2011survey 

The deadline for submissions is: February 15, 2011

Florida moving into e-filing "slowly" starting January 1

Legislatively mandated e-filing began in 9 Florida counties on January 1. According to the Florida Bar News not all counties were ready on New Year's Day, and for at least the first 90 days cases must be filed by paper as well as electronically. Moreover, filing through the portal www.myflcourtaccess.com is limited to circuit civil, county civil, probate, family, and juvenile dependency cases only for the time being.

E-signed and e-delivered, but not e-sealed?

Signed, sealed and delivered is more than a Stevie Wonder song, it represents the attestation of an action or record of a court dating back centuries. Technology, however, has outpaced the days of wax and impressions. For that reason, several state legislatures have have had to go back and change the laws of their states to allow their courts more latitude. legislatures in Oklahoma (HB 2253 of 2004), Iowa (HB 579 of 2009), and Michigan (SB 720 of 2010) all authorized all courts in their state to e-seal. Texas in 2007 (SB 229) gave its district court the authority to create a seal electronically, thus allowing the courts to transfer, store, and locate documents with greater efficiency.

This year, Nevada enters into the e-seal fray. SB 6 authorizes the electronic reproduction of the seal of a court (current law requires either impressing the seal on the document or impressing the seal on a substance attached to the document). The bill is currently pending in the Senate Committee on Judiciary.

Cross-posted at Gavel to Gavel blog

FL: Mandatory e-filing in criminal cases

Earlier in 2010, Gavel to Gavel looked at efforts by state legislatures to mandate more electronic filing of court documents. Much of the focus was on civil cases, however Florida’s Senate is considering a plan to press for criminal case e-filing. SB 170 of 2011 would require prosecutors and public defenders to e-file documents with the clerk of court and report back on March 1, 2012 on the implementation of the program to the legislature.
Cross-posted at Gavel to Gavel blog