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Last updated on Thursday, January 22, 2015
(INDIANAPOLIS) - Major changes could be coming to courthouses across Indiana, designed to make life a little easier.
Chief Justice Loretta Rush wants to do away with paper shuffling and go electronic. A Supreme Court technology team is moving the effort forward. They hope to make all court records available online, for all 92 counties in the state.
"The Facebook generation does almost all of its important business online," said Court of Appeals Judge, Paul D. Mathias. "We think court business is some of the most important business to make accessible online."
If the court receives funding from the General Assembly, they'll move forward with five pilot programs across the state. Their ultimate goal is to put e-filing in place with no extra fees for customers and little to no cost at the local level.
"With e-filing and the consequences of e-filing, you won't have to go to the courthouse," said Justice Steven David with the Indiana Supreme Court.
The new system will help everyday people, attorneys and clerks.
Across the country, 15 to 20 other states are already pushing papers out the door. Indiana leaders are closely looking at the current model in Texas.
Judge Mathias says e-filing in the courts is just the latest entity to switch over.
"When you look at Bureau of Motor Vehicles, you look at services they provide online. Hunting and fishing licenses can be obtained online," said Judge Mathias. "All of these things are a new, basic level of electronic access that this generation has come to expect."
Right now there is no specific timeframe, everything will depend on how much funding they can get from the General Assembly. Talks in both houses are ongoing.
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