Mandatory Electronic Court Filing Coming to an Indiana Court Near You
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The Indiana Supreme Court has committed the Indiana judicial system to leap toward paperless record systems. A few Indiana counties established electronic case filing systems as pilot projects in 2015. Gradually, courts have transitioned from paper systems to mandatory electronic filing systems since 2015. Those counties that continue to use paper systems, must transition into mandatory electronic filing (e-filing) systems in 2018, if not sooner.
The e-filing system eliminates tremendous waste and potential for human error when properly trained people use it. Instead of a county clerk’s employees entering data into their computer systems and printing paper records, the people that want to start court cases enter the data into the computer systems without printing any paper anything. Also, the individuals that start court cases are responsible for serving notices of their court cases to the other people that will become involved in the cases, so that the county does not have to pay for mail or comparable delivery costs. Because case records remain digital, instead of filling countless cardboard boxes, courthouses no longer have to build or lease annex facilities to house and protect flammable paper records. These and many other efficiencies should save Indiana counties many thousands of dollars each year.
New technology creates a learning curve when people tried to adopt it. E-filing is creating that kind of learning curve in the various county clerks’ offices because they all have to standardize certain procedures to implement the new system. Standardization tends to clash with Indiana’s “home rule” system, which authorizes each county’s elected officials to manage their offices as they think best. Ultimately, however, e-filing will give everyone better access to the court system and streamline court case management in every county.
The e-filing system changes several basic procedures that lawyers and courts have followed for decades. Everyone will make mistakes as they use the e-filing system, but the court system provides opportunities to fix some mistakes if people catch their mistakes early enough. Big problems will result, however, when people procrastinate and try to file things in court at the last second. Courts generally offer no forgiveness to procrastinators, so procrastinators will probably pay a much higher price for their bad habits in the new system than in the old system.
People that want to start court cases or whose names appear as lawsuit defendants or respondents must organize quickly and act immediately to protect their rights. Regardless of which side of a case a person might stand on, the person needs to contact a lawyer immediately instead of waiting until it is convenient. Such a person should not wait till tomorrow to call their lawyer. This is one of those times when it is important enough to take time off work, cancel a doctor’s appointment, or delay a vacation to avoid losing rights forever.
Jeff R. Hawkins and Jennifer J. Hawkins are Trust & Estate Specialty Board Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the Indiana State Bar Association and National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in Indiana, and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in Illinois. Jeff is also a registered civil mediator, a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and the Indiana Bar Foundation; a member of the Illinois State Bar Association and the Indiana Association of Mediators; and he was the 2014-15 President of the Indiana State Bar Association.
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