The subcommittee, which began its study in 1999, was created by the Judicial Conference Committee on Court Administration and Case Management, which Lungstrum also chairs. After receiving the subcommittee's recommendations, the respective committees will provide input to the Conference Court Administration and Case Management Committee for Conference action in September. In addition, court records as always will be freely available to the public at courthouses. It then conducted the fourhour public hearing, at which 15 witnesses expanded on previously written comments and fielded questions from subcommittee members. Electronic files are created in two ways.
Some courts use electronic imaging, converting paper files to electronic ones.
Others have opted to receive electronic court filings from lawyers. To date, more than 5,000 attorneys have used the Internet to file federal court documents. Their numbers are sure to grow. The rollout for district courts is scheduled to begin in mid2002, and for appellate courts in 2003. Bankruptcy courts are leading the way.