Early next year, Macomb County Circuit Court will start accepting court filings electronically via the Internet, according to court officials.
The Macomb County Board of Commissioners approved the E-Filing project at its October meeting and awarded a bid for $261,150 to Vista Solutions Group.
“Approving this was the smart, efficient thing to do, and as a bonus, E-Filing keeps us current in our practices,” said Commissioner Frank Accavitti, Jr., who chairs the board’s technology and communications committee.
Chief Judge Mark Switalski set E-Filing as one of his top priorities upon becoming chief judge in January, and said he was pleased the board approved the project.
“We very much appreciate the board’s decision to support our E-Filing project,” he said. “In this difficult economic environment, it is extremely important for the court to find progressive ways to ‘do more with less.’”
The E-Filing project team —led by Circuit Judges David Viviano and John Foster — includes members of the court Administrator’s Office, Friend of the Court, Clerk’s Office and the county’s Information Technology Department.
E-Filing will be mandatory for certain categories of civil cases assigned to Viviano and Foster starting early next year, Switalski said, and will be expanded to include all of the court’s civil/criminal judges by the end of 2011.
Officials said the program will reduce overhead costs for the filing, storage and retrieval of court documents, providing tremendous benefits to both the court and clerk’s office.
“Chief Judge Switalski set an E-Filing goal to make the court even more efficient,” said County Clerk Carmella Sabaugh.
Sabaugh and Switalski “agree that one way to continue providing good service with less staff is through the smart use of technology,” she said.
Revenue from the project will cover both its start-up and maintenance costs, Sabaugh said.
As soon as the contract is finalized and approval is granted by the State Court Administrator’s Office, she said, a timeline for implementation will be set.
It is anticipated that training for members of the Macomb County Bar Association will occur over the winter and the first E-Filings will be accepted by Viviano and Foster by March 1, 2011.
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