 The Supreme Court order authorized the Illinois Appellate Court in
the 2nd Judicial District to begin an e-project that will allow
attorneys, parties and appellate justices to view, access and work
electronically from the official record of cases on appeal from
DeKalb and McHenry counties for appeals filed after Aug. 1.DeKalb
and McHenry will join DuPage and Ogle counties in the 2nd Judicial
District to electronically transfer the official court record of
cases on appeal. Other Illinois counties in the pilot project are
Clinton County in the 5th Judicial District, Rock Island County in
the 3rd Judicial District and Adams County in the 4th Judicial
District.
In addition, the court announced in January a pilot project for
the electronic filing of motions, briefs and related documents with
the Illinois Supreme Court clerk's office. That project involves the
Illinois attorney general, the state appellate defender's office and
the office of the Illinois state's attorneys appellate prosecutor.
Kilbride has said making the records on appeal available
electronically will bring the courts closer to eventually making
e-business universal throughout the Illinois court system. Since
becoming chief justice in October 2010, Kilbride has pledged to make
Illinois court operations more efficient by implementing
improvements in technology.
"With the addition of two counties in this pilot project, this
step forward in developing and implementing e-business applications
in the court system is yet another gain toward friendly, efficient
and cost-effective court operations," Kilbride said.
The pilot project is effective immediately. It is a joint effort
between the appellate court, the clerk of the 2nd Judicial District,
and the DeKalb and McHenry County circuit clerks.
"I am thrilled that, under Chief Justice Kilbride’s leadership,
the Supreme Court has moved quickly and effectively toward the
development and implementation of e-filing," said Justice Robert R.
Thomas, whose 2nd Judicial District includes DeKalb, DuPage, McHenry
and Ogle counties.
"The programs perfected in these four counties will pave the way
for e-filing across the state, and will ensure that the justice
system operates more efficiently for all the people of Illinois."
DuPage County was the first pilot project selected for e-filing
in Illinois in 2005, and the vast majority of all civil filings in
the county are made electronically, said Appellate Justice Ann
Jorgensen, formerly chief circuit judge in DuPage County and now
presiding justice of the 2nd District Appellate Court.
"We're delighted to have Circuit Clerks Katherine M. Keefe from
McHenry County and Maureen A. Josh from DeKalb County join DuPage
and Ogle counties in transmitting records on appeal electronically
to the 2nd District," Jorgensen said.
"We see this as another step in the Supreme Court's initiative to
automating the courts of review."
Appellate Court Clerk Robert Mangan of the 2nd Judicial District
said that with the expansion of the electronic filing of the trial
record in the district, attorneys who practice in many jurisdictions
within the district will find their work much easier.
"For the practitioner in the western part of the 2nd District,
the electronic filing of the trial record will ease their caseload
and will find appellate work much, much easier than hauling around
the record manually," Mangan said.
"This means more cost-efficiency for the client, more effective
work from the lawyers and the court to operate more efficiently."
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Josh, the circuit clerk in DeKalb County, is honored that the county
was chosen to be a part of this project.
"DeKalb County is very grateful for the opportunity to have been
selected for this very important project," Josh said. "The e-appeal
filing project will open the door for another positive and
progressive technology used in the court system.
"We continue to look for ways to use our resources wisely and
serve the citizens of our county. The leadership of Justice Ann
Jorgensen, appellate court justice of the 2nd District, assures us
that this will be a successful project."
Keefe, the circuit clerk in McHenry County, said that savings
would be obtained through streamlining the appeals process.
"We are very excited to be selected for inclusion in the 2nd
District Appellate Court’s pilot e-filing project," Keefe said. "Not
only will this program allow for more timely administration of the
appeal process, it will ultimately save McHenry County tax dollars
by streamlining our appeal preparation.
"It is a cost-effective solution for attorneys and their clients,
plus it will allow the circuit clerk and the court to operate more
efficiently."
The pilot programs allow attorneys, parties and appellate
justices to electronically view, access and work from the official
record of cases on appeal in DeKalb and McHenry counties. However,
the paper record will continue to be available to parties who would
rather use it.
The accessible electronic record will include transcripts of the
trial and associated hearings, motions, other pleadings and
documents. It will exclude physical evidence such as weapons,
clothing and the like.
Currently, once a notice of appeal is filed, the official record
of the case is physically transported to the attorney of record on
one side of the case. When that attorney concludes the filing of the
necessary motions and briefs, the record is then physically
transported to the attorney on the other side of the case. If
additional briefs are required, the record is transported back and
forth between the attorneys. After the case is argued in the
appellate court, the record resides with the appellate justice
assigned to write the opinion. The two other justices hearing the
case may request the record as well, but it must be physically
transported from the justice in possession to the justice who
requests possession.
The pilot projects make the physical transfer of the record
unnecessary and remove the cost of repeatedly transporting the
record back and forth from the district clerk's office. They provide
a stream of efficiency in preparing and working on appeals, which
benefits not only the lawyers and the court, but the clients being
served and taxpayers who fund the courts.
Under the 2nd District pilot project, a paper record pursuant to
Supreme Court rules will remain with the clerk and be accessible
from the clerk, but a mirror record will be produced electronically
with identical pagination.
Attorneys who file appearances in the case, as well as all the
justices in the 2nd District and the parties, must register with
I2File.net to obtain access to the electronic record.
The parties, attorneys for a party, approved court personnel and
justices of the 2nd District will have the ability to search,
bookmark and make notes on their individual copy of the electronic
record. Any markings or notations made by a user on the electronic
record are secure and are unique to that user's copy. No user will
be able to view or access another user's copy. The 2nd District
clerk will retain a copy of the electronic record.
The electronic record will be in a format that supports
searchable text, both word and phrase. Once a mandate issues in an
appellate case, access to the electronic record will be terminated.
[Text from file
received from the
Illinois Supreme Court]
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