E-Filing in appellate courts to go live in January

The Michigan Supreme Court (MSC) and the Michigan Court of Appeals (COA) announced that their new e-filing system will go live in January. The system, which was authorized by MSC Administrative Order 2014-23, will be available in the MSC beginning January 5, 2015, and in the COA beginning January 20, 2015. "This initiative builds on our tradition of providing outstanding service to the public and reflects our commitment to implementing technology to work smarter," said MSC Chief Clerk Larry Royster. In particular, Royster noted that MSC operations will become more efficient because of reductions in resources needed to receive and manage paper files, and customers will be able to file anytime, anywhere (24 hours a day, seven days a week) with a single username and password. The system is designed to maximize ease of use and to promote utility for e-filers, whether they are attorneys or self-represented litigants. E-filers can access online training materials to get started. The new system will accept Microsoft Word documents, .pdfs, text files, .tifs, .pngs and .jpgs. However, both MSC and COA prefer original pleadings to be submitted as searchable .pdfs. Initially, e-filing will be voluntary for filers in all case types under this system, but the MSC and COA anticipate that e-filing will eventually become mandatory. The experience gained from this voluntary program will help determine future parameters. Both courts are currently testing the system with a selected group of users until their respective launch dates. Published: Mon, Dec 29, 2014