Gone are the days when attorneys were required to travel to the Allen County District Court Clerk’s Office in order to submit myriad filings on a daily basis.
In fact, all of the 31st Judicial District — Allen, Neosho, Woodson and Wilson counties — has required electronic filings from attorneys since May 1.
The move predates a new state law that will require attorneys submit files electronically in all of the state’s courts by the end of June 2018.
“We’re ahead of the game,” noted Daniel Creitz, Chief Justice of 31st Judicial District.
The e-filing measure is part of a yearslong process, Creitz noted, an important step toward setting up a central system for managing court cases statewide..
“It’s going to greatly increase efficiency,” the judge said, although a statewide server is still a few years away from becoming reality.
Through the e-file system, attorneys log onto a secure server from their respective offices to submit documents.
Setting up the server locally included staff training among court employees and attorneys.
“Once most of the attorneys saw how it worked, they loved it,” Creitz said.
The necessary computer upgrades and networking software is provided through state funding, Creitz noted. Court personnel, it should be noted, are employed through the state, not their individual counties.
“Counties are only required to provide us space,” Creitz noted.
The mandatory e-filing does not apply to people representing themselves in court, Creitz noted. Those individuals can still make paper filings.
THE UPGRADED computerized filing system also allowed Creitz to implement e-filing for warrants and affidavits, when those items are filed outside of normal business hours. That system has been up and going since March 1.
