by
James E. McMillan
Director
Court Technology
Laboratory
National Center for State Courts
300 Newport
Avenue
Williamsburg, VA, 23185
USA
February 22, 1994
The following is a description of concepts which have been developed during the past three years to describe what has been called Judicial Electronic Document and Data Interchange. This vision of the future is not without it's problems. However, it can serve as a general guide to what we currently envision. This document provides a crude roadmap from the creation of the legal document to it's eventual use within the court. It does not map the many other possible paths that the electronic document can take and the use of that information. These have not been forgotten, but for the sake of brevity, have not been included.
Private attorneys and government agencies create the vast majority of documents filed in the courts each year. A couple of years ago I conservatively estimated that over a quarter billion documents are filed in state and federal general jurisdiction courts in the United States each year (for approximately 17 million cases). I did not even try to estimate the number of documents created for appellate, administrative, and limited jurisdiction courts (over 83 million cases per year).
It would be as always with attorneys creating documents with their word processing software. However, instead of printing these documents on paper, they would use software to do several things at the touch of a button as if they were printing.
All this work will be done by the computer and will basically be hidden from the document creator.
We anticipate that courts, bar associations, and private publishers will want to develop electronic forms and formats to be used by the numerous word processing programs which are available. If the courts have a standard way to submit and approve these forms and formats, they can both control and greatly enhance their work capabilities.
Electronic court and legal documents will then need to be transmitted just as paper documents are sent via mail, express mail, or courier. Courts however, do not need to deal with the myriad of computers, computer communications protocols, modems, and unskilled users of the technology. Instead, we should take advantage of communications networks which are already in place for the private sector. These networks are known as Value Added Networks or VANs. VANs can provide several important services to the JEDDI concept. First, as mentioned above, they handle the communications portion of the equation. This allows the court to only have to deal with one connection, court to VAN. Some courts will eventually have hundreds if not thousands of JEDDI users. If the court were to undertake the cost to directly support these users, it would quickly scuttle the project due to the administrative overhead costs.
There are several advantages to the attorney to use electronic filing. First, VANs, just like physical mail, get a fee for transmitting this information. If this fee were to be less than courier or overnight express service, then there would be a financial benefit to the legal professional. Second, VANs could accept electronic filings 24 hours per day. If the court were to extend their filing deadlines to say 4:00 AM, then legal staff could have an additional 11 hours to prepare their documents. Third, VANs should have the ability to provide alternative methods of document delivery including fax and mail for notices to attorneys and parties without electronic mailboxes. This would lessen the load upon their administrative staff.
Transmission of electronic documents is not the only advantage to the court for using a VAN. The VAN can also, with proper rules promulgated by the courts, serve as an independent agent to log and authenticate documents sent to the courts. These logs would not copy the document, but they would contain information regarding the time of receipt and transmission and, information about the size and electronic signature of the document which can be used to secure and establish the authenticity of the electronic document. The development and promulgation of these rules is key for acceptance of JEDDI.
VANs can also be used to handle the court filing fees. This could be handled in many ways. First, as in done in many courts, an escrow account, or electronic funds transfer could be automatically tapped by the VAN and the amount transferred into court's account. A second potential option would be to bill the attorney for court filing fees as part of their connection and transmission fees. The funds and records would then be transmitted to the court's accounts and electronic mailbox. A third option would be to automatically bill the sender's credit card account.
As you know, many clerk's have already implemented automated case management systems to docket, calendar, index, and handle financial aspects of the court's business. We will greatly enhance this operation through JEDDI in two areas:
For the past six months in the NCSC Court Technology Laboratory we have been teaching people about the 90/10 rule. That rule says that 90 percent of data existing in the world is contained within documents which is not applicable for entry into a database. If you look at the traditional clerk's office you will immediately recognize that this is true. Approximately 10% of the office space is taken by index cards and docket books. In computer terms these are contained in the automated court case management system. The remaining 90% of space in the clerks office not occupied by staff is taken by the court case files. That is what we also intend to automate with JEDDI.
JEDDI court users will install a system, probably a PC, and software to communicate with the VAN. The clerk's office will call the VAN several times per day with this computer to empty their electronic mailbox. If the clerk's computer is broken, the VAN mailbox will hold their mail until the system is working again. Once the electronic packages are received from the VAN, the clerk's staff can examine the contents on the computer screen. At first, clerk's staff may wish to view all these documents and electronic "cover sheets" to verify their contents. Later, programs will be developed to assist the clerk in these duties. If the contents are approved, the clerk will press the button to have the contents filed into both the automated case management system and, a second new system, the document/image electronic filing cabinet. The electronic filing cabinet will replace our file rooms and, is a key part of improving the productivity of the judges, attorneys, and judge's staff working within the court.
The court case management system will receive data entry through the EDI portion of the JEDDI file. This will allow the clerk's office to have docket, calendar, and index information automatically entered into the system. Since the filing fee has already been credited to the court account, that information will also automatically be entered into the case management system. In addition the system will allow automatic receipting and noticing of JEDDI connected attorneys. Thus, a clerk making a calendar entry will be able to automatically notice the attorneys involved. This will greatly save the time and expense of document preparation and mailing. For example, AT&T estimates that it cost $2.81 to mail a ten page document letter versus $2.28 to send the same information electronically. The difference is $3.95 to fax the document versus $2.28 electronically. Multiply these savings by the number of documents mailed to and from courts each year will result in millions of dollars per year being saved.
Judges have complained to me for years that automation has not helped them to do their work. With JEDDI, this will change since electronic documents can have many more capabilities when compared to what is possible with paper files and documents.
First, an electronic file folder will be created for each case. Within the file folder JEDDI electronic document and image computer files will be placed from the receiving computer. Image files are basically "computer pictures" of either documents or court evidence such as pictures of accident scenes. By scanning non-JEDDI documents and pictures, one electronic file folder can be created for the case and accessed by everyone on the computer system with proper security authorization. For existing paper documents and court files, image scanning will allow the legal system to make the transition from paper to electronic documents. It will also allow courts to continue to allow pro-per filings on paper by private citizens.
Second, electronic file folders will be able to easily perform tasks which would be very time consuming for paper systems. The electronic folder can be automatically routed into clerk's, judicial assistants, and judges electronic in-boxes when needed. However, unlike paper folders, everyone else can still find the file.
Third, it will also be possible to create customized views of the folder for each judge and court staff persons. For example, some documents should not be accessed by particular court staff or, the public. The system could automatically shield these documents based upon identification codes.
Also, paper court case folders are usually organized in reverse date order with the most recent document filed on top. Electronic file folders could be automatically re-ordered or prioritized depending upon the type of case, person viewing the case, or the proceeding at hand. The important document or evidence would be "on top" and not buried within the file folder.
Fourth, it is important to note that with today's personal computers electronic legal documents can look the same as they appear on paper. Different type fonts, bolding, and underlining can be displayed on the screen just as it appears on paper. JEDDI should not be implemented on systems with older "green screen" technology used for display to the judges. This is not fair to either the document creator nor the judge since form can nearly be as important as content.
Fifth, the legal documents themselves could become better organized. With SGML data tags, it will be possible for an attorney to mark key points within documents so that the judge can focus upon those ideas. This will speed work since both staff and judges could jump to the specific points within a document and yet, have all the supporting material at hand. In Utah, it has already been demonstrated that these "smart documents" can be automatically cross referenced to the specific case law and statutes contained on a CD-ROM disk. To view the applicable case, the judge simply has to "click" on the case citation and the full text of the case will appear on the screen. Finally, in the future these smart documents could also contain clips of video or recorded speech from a deposition or arrest to support an attorney's argument to the court.
JEDDI has great potential to save work, time, and cost for the legal system if implemented properly. There are many details to be determined to make the system as understandable and useful as the paper system we have used in courts for over two millennium (for example, we have given up scrolls in most areas).