Notice - Your legal questions are unique to you and cannot be answered by general discussions of legal issues such as are presented on this page. The contents of this page do not constitute legal advice. The facts of your case should be specifically discussed with an attorney. Laws vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and the information contained on this page may not apply in your jurisdiction. The information presented here is not meant as a substitute for one-on-one consultation with an attorney.
Courts and the Internet: Electronic Filing and the Northern District of Ohio
(published in the June, 1996 issue of the Akron Bar Examiner Magazine) by Keith A. Throckmorton
Problem
The United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio (NDO) has more than 10,000 maritime asbestos cases already filed and anticipates the filing of 15,000 to 20,000 more cases over the next few years. Each of the cases involves a plaintiff and more than 100 defendants. As you can imagine, the paperwork generated by the parties has placed a tremendous burden on the Court both in terms of storage space and in employee time spent docketing each pleading and placing it in the appropriate file. During a September, 1995 hearing Clerk of Courts Geri Smith estimated that it would take 7 1/2 months to docket the Court's 270,000 document backlog. Obviously, dramatic action was required.
Solution
Technology. To deal with the avalanche of paperwork, the Court knew that any filing system adopted would have to go beyond the electronic docketing systems that have been used by many courts over the past few years. Most of these systems make only the captions of the pleadings electronically accessible. What the NDO needed was a system that would make the pleadings themselves electronically accessible. Fortunately for the Court, the World Wide Web (WWW) was at a stage advanced enough in its evolution to provide a solution.
With the blessing of U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Rehnquist, the Technology Enhancement Office (TEO) for the Federal Court system began exploring the possibility of creating a "Home Page" for the NDO on the Internet. TEO's efforts have culminated in the current live version of the Home Page which can be found at "http://www.ohnd.uscourts.gov".
The NDO Home Page
To file electronically, a pleading must first be prepared on either a Mac, UNIX, or IBM compatible computer system using any commercially available word processor (including, most commonly, Word Perfect or Microsoft Word). Once the document has been prepared, it must be translated into a PDF (portable document format) format. The TEO has specified Adobe Acrobat as the PDF software to be used with the present system, although there are other software packages that may be supported in the future. Using a PDF application like Adobe Acrobat insures that your document will appear on-line exactly as it would have appeared on paper. Typeface, point size, line spacing and all other formatting aspects of your document will be maintained. The translation is accomplished using the print command in your word processor. Instead of printing out a paper copy of your document, Acrobat will translate the document from word processor format to PDF format. The output will be a file stored on your hard disk which will be ready for transmission to the court.
Currently, to access and use the features of the NDO Home Page, the Internet "browser" created by Netscape Communications Corp. must be used. Their product, called Netscape Navigator, is one of many software browsers that enable "Internauts" to navigate the WWW. Navigator is required because the TEO designed the Home Page to take advantage of advanced features currently offered only by Netscape.
Once logged onto the NDO Home Page, participating attorneys are asked to provide a password. This password serves as an electronic signature and insures that no one else can file documents for your clients. Your password is what separates you from the general public and enables you to actually file, and not just view, documents.
When you log onto the NDO Home Page, you will see "hypertext links" (typically words appearing in blue letters) to click on which will take you from one area of the NDO Home Page to another. If you click a link to file pleadings, you will be asked to select the type of pleading. If you want to file an answer, click the answer link. You will then be asked to identify a case number and select the party for which you want to file an answer. Once the party is selected and the PDF file you created with Adobe Acrobat is designated as the answer to be filed, all you have to do is click a button to transmit your answer to the court. The answer will be "lodged" instantaneously and will show on the docket for the case.
To view the docket for a particular case, just select the correct link and enter a case number. A link is provided so that if you see a docket entry that interests you, all you need to do is click on the number next to the pleading and it will be displayed on your computer screen. If you wish to print the document, select "print" from the file menu at the top of your screen. The document will print on your designated printer. Alternatively, you can save the downloaded file to disk and view it whenever you wish, without the need to print the document.
According to the TEO, at some point in the near future, the entire pleadings database will be keyword searchable. The search method will probably take the form of a button that can be clicked, resulting in the appearance of a box into which you insert your search term. The database will then be searched for all appearances of your search term. A list of documents containing your search term will be produced. Each document in the list will then be viewable by way of a hypertext link.
Conclusion
This system has the potential to revolutionize the practice of law and to achieve significant cost savings for courts and attorneys. E-mail noticing via the Internet is free, stamps are 32¢ and rising. Another area where savings can be realized is in copying costs. Can you imagine never having to copy another document to serve on an adverse party? Beginning with maritime asbestos cases filed in the NDO after January 1, 1996, attorneys wanting to review a pleading filed by another party will go on-line and view it. The savings to the courts will be substantial as well. New generation storage devices can store on a few platters what currently fills entire rooms. With this new technology, no file clerk need ever search for a file folder to place a paper pleading inside. All storage and indexing of pleadings will be handled by computer.
More courts will be adopting similar systems in the future. If you want to learn more about these systems, or about legal technology in general, the Law Office Management and Technology Committee of the Akron Bar Association is the place to do it. Contact the Bar office for information on upcoming speakers and meetings.
by Keith A. Throckmorton, Law Office Management & Technology Committee, Akron Bar Association