County courts switching to digital system to save time and money
A push to make court filing systems more efficient is rolling out across the state, and local counties — including Greene — have made the switch.
The Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts (AOPC) implemented the change to streamline the process of filing and transferring court paperwork. The system enables office workers to scan documents into a system, making them immediately accessible for download at all levels of the county court.
Greene, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland counties participated in the optional change, touting cost- and time-savings.
Previously, a police officer would bring a criminal complaint to the magisterial district judge where he or she planned to file charges, and a clerk would scan the complaint and make copies to be faxed, mailed or picked up by hand, depending on the office’s procedures.
Now, complaints are scanned directly into the system where they can be downloaded by other offices in the court system, such as the court of common pleas, the clerk of courts, the public defender’s office and the office of the district attorney.
Greene County Deputy Court Administrator Pam Mason said the new system simplifies a potentially complex process.
“It’s already transferred to the court of common pleas, so it just makes everything a lot easier,” she said, adding the only way to pick up paperwork in many cases before was by hand. “This way, it’s already here. You can look at the paperwork in the system.”
She said paper costs have been reduced since they implemented the system in June, and magistrate offices have less paperwork in storage.
“Even if we do need a hard copy, we can immediately pull it up,” she said. “Since it’s scanned, we can see it immediately.”
Fayette County recently made the switch.
“I felt, and the president judge agreed, that because of the cost savings to the county we would tap into this new program,” said Deputy Court Administrator Tammy Lambie, who estimated the county will save $2,000 annually in paper costs alone.
“To me, any savings is good to the county taxpayers,” she said.
Lambie said the process is also simplified for legal advocates and crime victim’s centers.
The paperwork can now be sent by email in Fayette County. Hard copies can still be obtained by paying 25 cents per page.
“It saves on time, saves on paper, saves on people taking time to come in and get the complaints,” Lambie said.
In Washington County, the court system previously licensed software to complete a similar process to the one now implemented across the state, said District Court Administrator Patrick R. Grimm.
“We were already digital, so it really was just switching systems,” he said.
The new system also saved a step in the process. They are considering a switch to electronic filing next year.
Before the new system upgrade, magistrate offices in Washington County would mail complaints to one another, which could take several days to receive. The new system is instantaneous since the paperwork can be downloaded, he said.
“It saves some time, saves postage, saves paper in storage,” he said.
Documents are backed up on AOPC servers, said Westmoreland County Deputy Court Administrator Tami Herrington. The AOPC hosted a webinar about the new system earlier this year.
She noted the switch also cuts down on paperwork stored in the district court offices.
“They don’t have to photocopy the case file and keep it in house. They store it digitally,” she said. “They still send a paper copy to the clerk of courts, but what they retain is a scanned copy in their office. So that’s a paper savings and reduces storage space.”