And the state also wanted to integrate the electronic filing system with the court case management system that way court clerks would have less data entry work. Nationwide, with millions of cases filed every year and the number growing, courts are being overwhelmed, Schiltz said. It s a huge national problem with the court system. Judges will also have the ability to issue and serve court orders electronically. And both judges and attorneys can view all the documents in a case s entire history through the Web-based platform.
Officials say e-filing is simple.
It costs nothing to subscribe to the system. Attorneys pay 10 cents a page to file a document and also pay CourtLink a transaction fee to deliver the documents electronically to the court, opposing counsel and other designated parties who are not necessarily linked to the system. If other parties do not have e-mail, CourtLink will fax or mail legal documents. Colorado courts do not have to pay to be part of the system, said Roper, and judges and clerks can view and download documents for free. Colorado tested e-filing about four years ago in Arapahoe County s District Courts, which serve more than 650,000 people, in a pilot project using a different vendor.