NC Makes Progress with Electronic Records Initiative
The move from using paper to taking advantage of electronic court records has been a steady one, with states and counties implementing document and case management systems to better manage their files. At the start of the year, we looked at a project in North Carolina, which moves their 100 counties from paper to a case management system over the course of several years. Nine months later, the state has announced a new batch of counties that have made the transition to electronic records.
The 11 counties that made the switch are Anson, Cabarrus, Cumberland, Hoke, Montgomery, Moore, Randolph, Richmond, Scotland, Stanly, and Union. Adding these to the counties that have already moved to electronic records brings the project to just under halfway complete, with 49 counties that have moved away from paper. The pace will need to pick up somewhat to meet the goal of having all of the counties online by the end of 2025.
Electronic records are generally time saving for both constituents and staff at a court’s office. Not only do many adopting electronic records systems integrate with automated indexing software like Extract’s to speed up the filing process, the need for walk-in visits to physically find and view information is eliminated. This was especially important during the social distancing restrictions of the pandemic, when in-person visits were severely restricted or eliminated altogether.
Despite the benefits for these two groups, lawyers have expressed concerns about the process. They say that they’ve already seen delays and are also pushing cases into 2025. There’s also worry that the new system could ‘glitch’ or have data like a court date entered incorrectly. Getting these dates right is obviously crucial as missing a court date can lead to someone’s arrest. That being said, it seems like a more hypothetical concern at this point, and the courts have asked for some leniency as they work through any potential issues.
You can learn more about the software Extract® Systems offers to support electronic court records by viewing our indexing or redaction pages.
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