In 2014, the Indiana Supreme Court announced the implementation of statewide e-filing, which will reduce paper copies, postage and trips to the clerk’s office. With strong support from the legislative and executive branches, attorneys, clerks, judges and staff—the path to e-filing is underway with plans for statewide implementation by the end of 2018.
The implementation of e-filing can be described in five phases. Phase 1 is the implementation of e-filing for the trial courts in Hamilton County and they are using the Odyssey case management system (CMS). Phase 2 is targeted e-filing for the Supreme and Appellate Courts. Phase 3 will add one or more additional E-filing Service Providers (EFSP). During Phase 4, e-filing will be available in the trial courts in a county using the JTS case management system. The selected JTS county is Wells County. Finally, Phase 5 is the implementation of e-filing in a juvenile case management system called QUEST, which is primarily used by juvenile courts in ten counties.
Hamilton County became the leader in the statewide trial court e-filing project. There was a soft launch of the initiative in July with several volunteer law firms. Chief Justice Loretta Rush traveled to Hamilton County on August 12 and met with court and clerk staff, judges and attorneys to congratulate them on being the first county to implement e-filing as part of a statewide measure.
Supreme Court Justice Steven David, who leads the project along with Court of Appeals Judge Paul Mathias, were both present to recognize the Hamilton County leaders.
Justice David explained, “The Indiana Supreme Court is committed to the most effective use of technology to ensure that courts operate with efficiency and fairness—e-filing is a key component of our modernization plans.”
Initially, litigants could e-file only in specific civil case types. This was later expanded to include most civil case types and subsequent filings in criminal cases began on October 19.
The convenience and efficiency of electronic filing of court documents became a reality for the Indiana Supreme Court and Court of Appeals on November 9. Participants from the Marion County Public Defender, State Public Defender, and the Attorney General agreed to be the first to e-file their documents with the appellate clerk in existing appeals. All other e-filing registered users are permitted (but not required) to e-file. Modified e-filing appellate rules were published and are available at courts.in.gov/efile.
E-filing will be expanded into Harrison and Clark counties at the beginning of 2016. The courts in these two counties use Odyssey CMS. Additional Odyssey courts will follow throughout 2016 and 2017.
Information about e-filing can be found at courts.in.gov/efile. The Indiana rules and implementation schedule, list of service providers, and details about training sessions will be updated online. Anyone who wants to participate in e-filing is encouraged to review the e-filing instructions. Those interested can also subscribe to receive email updates about e-filing.