Awash in paper, court clerks go digital

County Accepts Electronically Filed Document

By Chris Coates
Wednesday, April 22, 2009 1:19 AM CDT

To grasp just how much paperwork the Madison County Circuit Clerk's Office handles every day, take a look at the cramped county courthouse basement in Edwardsville.

There, sealed off from the public, sit dozens and dozens of rolling shelves, each stuffed to the ceiling with thick manila folders and packed papers.

"This is just asbestos cases," said Chief Deputy Clerk Judy Nelson, pointing to four library-sized units brimming with files, during a visit Monday morning. "It's a lot of dead trees."

That massive workload - the 3rd Circuit Court processed 103,387 cases last year - is one reason why the state Supreme Court picked Madison County last year to test an electronic court case filing program.

The system, which started April 6, lets attorneys from both sides of a case digitally input many of the documents they would have had to physically submit at the courthouse. The information is then beamed to deputy clerks, who make sure the data fits with court rules.

 

 

The project is a significant time-saver, said Deputy Clerk Dawn Dunn.

"It's an all-automatic process," she said, between entering information for a motion on Monday.

Lawyers submit the documents through LexisNexis, which queues the information for workers like Dunn. She checks the data and makes sure fees are paid, then timestamps the memoranda, just like regular paper docket submissions.

Under the old format, the 80 or so deputy clerks had to input all of the documents - every line on every form - into the court automated case management system. The county since 2006 has kept electronic copies.

The new program further computerizes the cumbersome process, said Nelson, who called the e-file program "revolutionary."

"It's very, very exciting," she said.

Lawyers are charged $7 per document.

Circuit Clerk Matt Melucci said the program took about five years to receive approval from the state, which closely regulates how court documents are processed. DuPage County outside Chicago is also using the procedure.

Melucci said the 3rd Circuit Court was selected in large part because of its extensive asbestos docket, the product of several thousand cases filed each year in Madison County. Each asbestos case takes about four feet of shelf space.

The electronic method will free up workers to focus on more cases, which continue to grow each year, Melucci said.

"We will shift people to get them where need them," he said.

Melucci said no layoffs are planned.

Nelson said the program will allow the Clerk's Office to more effectively store case files. Submissions are still printed and saved, although the amount of paperwork is much less. Now, only the basic elements of the file are kept.

The office mailed notices to attorneys in late March.

Ronald S. Motil, a Glen Carbon personal injury lawyer, has sent office staff to seminars about e-filing. He said the new procedure helps, but questioned the fee structure. Lawyers are charged per filing, which often number several dozen each case.

"It's very expensive to file certain pleas," said Motil, a former Madison County Bar Association president. "I don't understand how that helps us."

He said clients are ultimately saddled with the costs. A similar federal courts system is free, Motil said.

"I always thought that e-file was supposed to make it more efficient," he said.

Nelson said she's aware of the criticisms but noted fees make the program self-funded without using county dollars.

The system is currently limited to law cases, although plans are in place to expand the service to arbitration. Nelson said officials would eventually like to move all of the files to the digital realm. Space in the courthouse - built in 1913 - is limited and clerks are antsy to find extra space.

"There's no room to expand," she said about the small basement. "No room."

Madison County court filings

n 1997 - 78,321

n 1999 - 89,907

n 2001 - 93,607

n 2003 - 92,297

n 2005 - 96,563

n 2007 - 110,322

n 2008 - 103,387

Source: Circuit Clerk's Office

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