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MARCH 18, 2013 AT 1:00 AM
Michigan courts making switch to electronic
filing, paperless services
BY URSULA WATSON THE DETROIT NEWS
1
COMMENTS
Mount Clemens — Courts across Michigan are abandoning the use of paper
for the convenience of electronic filing or e-filing documents, with Macomb
County Circuit Court making a big push to go digital.
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The switch means improved court employee productivity, shorter lines at
county clerk's offices and cost savings for personnel and storage for courts,
the legal community and the public.
Oakland and Wayne counties also offer paperless services and are looking
to expand their efforts. And the State Court Administrative Office recently
chose ImageSoft Inc. of Southfield to create a central electronic filing
platform available to all district, circuit, probate and appeals courts, and the
Supreme Court. The benefits of e-filing have been immediate for Macomb
Circuit Court judges and clerks, said Anthony June, the court's
communications and technology manager. Last year the court paid
$260,274 to convert to a document management system from ImageSoft.
The court and company will evenly split all e-filing revenue for three years.
"Clerks have immediate access to documents without having to pull a case
file, and that helps them continue their work flow," June said.
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Anthony June, left, Macomb
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Clerk Angie Burke retrieves court files for judges March 5 at Macomb County Circuit Court. Wading through mounds of paperwork
was once the norm for court employees, but that’s changing. The benefits of e-filing have been immediate for judges and clerks,
court officials say. (Todd McInturf / The Detroit News)
Circuit Court Judge John Foster said he's pleased with the time-saving,
streamlined system.
"It used to be we would have to call down to the clerk's office and they would
go find the file, put it on the dumbwaiter and my secretary would go get it. I
then would leaf through all the papers," he said.
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While courts in Wayne and Oakland counties have made progress in going
paperless, said ImageSoft President Scott Bade, Macomb is on the leading
edge.
"Other courts have focused on doing one case type at a time," Bade said.
"Macomb is pushing forward with going electronic in most of the circuit
court."
Currently, the e-filing is for inbound documents only, which saves attorneys
time, said court administrator Jennifer Phillips. Rather than mailing or paying
runners to rush documents to court, attorneys can file their paperwork and
serve other attorneys, she added.
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Michigan courts making switch to electronic filing, paperless services | The Detroit News ... Page 3 of 5
Phillips said she remembers when wading through mounds of paper was the
norm. "I worked as a legal secretary and paralegal and to do a motion for
the court … you would have all these stacks of paper on the floor," she said.
"It was very paper intensive."
Macomb County Clerk Carmella Sabaugh said she has seen e-filing clear
paper clutter. While visiting the Oakland County Clerk/Register of Deeds she
was astonished by its file room.
"There are no files," she said. "It is unbelievable. I said to myself, 'Is this
really happening?' "
Public benefits most
Oakland County Circuit Court turned to e-filing in 2007 using Tyler
Technologies of Texas. It costs users $5 to file electronically, with the county
and Tyler splitting the revenue.
While not completely paperless, the court's civil docket is electronic. Savings
in paper, mailing and envelope costs equal $10,000 annually, said court
administrator Kevin Oeffner. But, he said, the real savings is in time.
"We have fewer staff because of budget cuts," Oeffner said. "It frees up
employees to do other things that we still have to do."
It's the public, though, who benefits the most, he said.
"In the old days, the attorney had to drive to the court to file documents and
make several trips during the life of the case," he said. Now, "the attorney
can do this electronically at their office and they're charging the client for
less cost."
Those filing documents without legal representation also will benefit .
"In the past, the public would have to bring their documents to court, now
they can save time, gas and postage," said John Cooperrider, Oakland court
business administrator. Even with the $5 fee — it was free before — it's a
savings from the $35 it costs for a courier to deliver documents.
Mike Gruich, spokesman for Wayne County's Third Judicial Circuit of
Michigan, said e-filing has been successful since it was implemented in
November 2011.
"About 76 percent of our civil division alone is electronic and we are looking
to get the approval to continue the rest," he said. "We had 1,500 filings in the
first month.
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"Now, we have 22,000 filings a month that come from the legal community
and the public. We have about a million pages in electronic format that we
don't have in paper anymore."
Even with the move to e-filing, don't expect courts to go completely
paperless, ImageSoft's Bade said.
"Some judges may demand a paper file and an indigent filer may have no
means to submit electronically."
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The Detroit News aims to provide a forum that fosters smart, civil discussions on the news and
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Jim McNally —
Top Commenter — West Juneau, Alaska
The Michigan Court of Appeals and the federal courts have been using e-filing for several years. It has been
quite successful. Even those systems with a filing fee or a convenience fee (such as the Court of Appeals) have
reduced the costs of handling cases for attorneys and clients. We no longer have to print and file multiple
copies of motions and briefs, and we do not need to make multiple copies of our opponents' paperwork for our
own files. It saves time, ink, paper, and money. As an attorney, I am looking forward to the adoption of efiling in the circuit courts.
Reply —
1 — Like— 6 hours ago
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Michigan courts making
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