A January 14 Maryland Reporter.com article discusses a plan by the Maryland Judiciary to implement a paperless court filing system under the Maryland Electronic Court Initiative. The system would reduce costs, employee overhead, paper, and space. In addition, the system could improve public safety because of faster processing time for warrants and protective orders.
Chief District Judge Ben Clyburn briefed the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee on the Maryland Electronic Court Initiative, which will revolutionize the way that all Maryland courts have cases filed and store and share information.
Attorneys or their staff will no longer have to physically go to the court to file documents. Members of the media and the public won’t have to go the courthouse to see papers and court clerks will not have to dig through file cabinets. Everything will be available on the Internet with a few clicks of a mouse. …
The state has been working toward an electronic court filing system for about three and a half years, Clyburn said. Maryland is following 22 other states that have implemented similar systems. The federal government’s court system has also had electronic filing and docketing for several years. …
The system should be developed enough for it to be tested in courts in Anne Arundel County next year, Clyburn said. The system should be fully implemented in 2015.