State pilot programs to allow attorneys to file electronically
Posted on Friday, August 24, 2007
The Arkansas Supreme Court and the state Court of Appeals soon will allow attorneys to file court documents electronically, a court spokesman said Wednesday.
The voluntary pilot program is aimed at reducing costs to the courts, the attorneys and the taxpayers, Administrative Office of the Courts spokesman Karolyn Bond said in a news release.
Attorneys who register with the program will be allowed to file briefs electronically in the two appellate courts. Those courts’ judges and staff will be able to view the briefs online. Under the program, however, the electronic submissions won’t replace the paper copies required by court rules and won’t satisfy court filing deadlines, Bond said.
Numerous states have begun an e-filing system at their appellate level, Bond said. She said such filings provide instant submission, allow court personnel to view the briefs online “and can eventually assist in the problem with storage of paper files.” The program will run Sept. 1 to Dec. 31. After the test period, the courts intend to expand it.
The court’s announcement comes seven months after Appeals Court Judge Wendell Griffen complained in a decision about the massive volume of paper appellate cases consume, calling the state’s all-paper system “a living anachronism.” Based on figures from an environmental consulting firm in San Francisco, Griffen calculated that filings in a particular child custody and alimony case used up almost three trees.
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