CCAP expands electronic case filing initiative

By Jean Bousquet, Chief Information Officer

Jean Bousquet

The Wisconsin Court System is ready to roll out electronic case filing (eFiling) to all Wisconsin circuit courts using Consolidated Court Automation Programs (CCAP) case management.

On May 1, 2008, the Wisconsin Supreme Court approved a rule setting out the procedures for filing circuit court cases electronically, codified as Wis. Stat. section 801.17.  Over the next few years, eFiling will become available county by county as clerks of circuit court and judges implement the new procedures. 

Background
In 2005, Washington and Kenosha counties began participating in an eFiling pilot program for small claims money judgment cases.   The pilot program was extremely valuable for assessing the viability of eFiling in Wisconsin circuit courts and to make sure the eFiling system worked for the courts and litigants.  Enhancements to both the CCAP case management and eFiling systems were made based upon feedback from Washington and Kenosha counties and the electronic filers. The pilot program demonstrated that eFiling can generate savings in court resources and can be simple and intuitive for attorneys and other filers to use.

Current status
Since the rule took effect, the system has been enhanced to allow eFiling for family, small claims and most civil case types in participating counties.  Taylor and Clark counties are accepting electronic case filings for all three case types, and Washington County has expanded its use to include civil and small claims cases.  Barron and Ozaukee counties plan to enable eFiling for small claims filings in the near future. Interest continues to grow; additional counties have expressed interest in eFiling and preliminary discussions are planned with CCAP staff. 

Benefits to the courts
The eFiling system works in the same fashion as electronic citations.  Once an electronic filer initiates a case in a participating county, the filing is held for clerk review.  After the clerk reviews and accepts the filing, a case is automatically created based on the information provided by the filer. Notices are generated and sent to the parties by e-mail and filing fees are paid by credit card and automatically applied to the case. While personal service is accomplished as usual, subsequent documents are exchanged through the eFiling system. 

Participating counties have seen a reduction in the amount of data entry and other paper-based tasks for eFiled cases. Court staff no longer needs to enter the filing information into the case management system, handle fees, or mail notices and documents. 

Kristine Deiss, Washington County Clerk of Circuit Court, has been participating in the eFiling project since 2005.

"The system is very user-friendly from our perspective. The ability of the system to automatically populate data from the eFiled documents into our case management system is wonderful," Deiss said.

While staff must scan any paper documents, creating an all-electronic file generates savings of time and money as paper files no longer need to be opened, checked out, and maintained. 

"The civil clerk, the accounting supervisor, the judicial assistant, and the judge can all access an electronic file for information at the same time. Staff can easily bring the case up and review all documents on their computer monitor, or quickly print a copy when requested," Deiss said.

Clerks also have the option of maintaining a paper file for eFiled cases, but are not required to do so.  All electronic documents are available to view or print from the CCAP case management system. Judges will see benefits in a future CCAP software release as all PDF documents, including scanned documents, will be text searchable. 

Clark County began offering eFiling in March 2009, and although only ten cases have been electronically filed, the benefits are apparent," said Clerk of Court Gail Walker, Clark County.

"Very little data entry is required on our part and the time spent preparing a paper file is eliminated," Walker said. "When access to the case is required, we no longer need to search for the file. The entire case can be conveniently viewed through CCAP by the court and the filing parties, or the public through our public access terminals," Walker added. 

Walker hopes eFiling catches on among attorneys, saying she wishes more attorneys would give eFiling a try so they too would see the convenience and significant benefits of eFiling. 

"More eFiled cases mean more savings for all of us," Walker said.

In court, judges and court commissioners can view documents on their CCAP computers as they hear each case.  Specific documents can be printed as needed.

Not only can court officials view documents on their computers, they can electronically sign them as well. Currently, this includes all CCAP-generated documents for civil, small claims and family cases.  Additional documents will be enabled for electronic signatures in software releases throughout the year. 

Benefits for filers
Feedback so far has been positive, as users find the eFiling system intuitive and easy to use.  Once filers register for an eCourts account, they are ready to begin filing and receiving documents.  Registered users associated with cases have increased access to case files and documents.  Litigants have access to their electronic court files and documents 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  The system delivers a quick cost-efficient filing process, as printing, postage and courier services can be dramatically reduced.  The system provides timely e-mail messages whenever a new document or order is filed by other parties or the court, indicating the document is available online. Pleadings are signed using electronic signatures and filing fees are paid with a credit card. 

The eFiling Web site provides new users with instructions, answers to frequently asked questions, technical requirements for filing and an online demonstration.  Additionally, when a county implements the eFiling system, CCAP staff is available for presentations and training sessions with local attorneys and staff.

Access to electronic documents is limited to the attorneys and self-represented litigants in each case.  Documents are not available from the Wisconsin Circuit Court Access (WCCA) Web site.  This reflects a WCCA Oversight Committee policy decision to consider how much case information should be displayed on the court Web site. The public can still see non-confidential documents on CCAP public access computers in the courthouse.

When will eFiling become available?
Circuit courts voluntarily participate in eFiling as do filers. Each county will determine when it is ready to begin eFiling, and there is much to consider.  EFiling requires scanning of paper documents to create a fully electronic file, so counties must provide staffing to ensure paper pleadings are scanned as they are received. Clerks will need to balance the front-end cost of staffing, scanning and office reorganization against the longer-term efficiencies of electronic files. 

While eFiling is currently available for civil, small claims and family cases, CCAP plans to expand eFiling to additional case types.  Expansion to criminal and juvenile cases will take longer as it will require data sharing with district attorneys, the public defender and other large institutional case management systems.  

Interest in eFiling is likely to grow as more attorneys gain experience with the system in participating counties.  Exposure will increase statewide as new appellate court rules require mandatory eFiling for appellate briefs, no-merit reports, petitions for review and responses for the appellate courts.  These rules became effective on July 1. (See separate story)

Milwaukee Atty. Thomas Awen said the system is cost-effective and easy to use, compared to having documents physically delivered.

"I cannot wait for the day when the other counties eventually come on-line.  For those members of the bar who have not yet registered for eFiling, they do not know what they are missing," Awen said.

Where can I learn more?
Court system Web site

eFiling rule, Wis. Stats. §801.17

eSignature rule, SCR 70.42

Introductory video for judges and court staff available on CourtNet (the court system's Intranet site)

Introductory video for filers

Committee report

For legal questions about the new rules, please call Marcia Vandercook in the Office of Court Operations, marcia.vandercook@wicourts.gov, (608) 267-7335.

For CCAP questions about implementation of eFiling, call Andrea Olson, CCAP customer services manager, andrea.olson@wicourts.gov, (608) 264-6908.

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