The Federal Trial Courts have utilized electronic filing (CM/ECF) for a number of years. The United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee implemented the system in 2005. On June 1, 2008 the Sixth Circuit implemented e-filing. For years it appeared a foregone conclusion that e-filing would make its way into the state court system. In 2004, the Tennessee Supreme Court established a Task Force on Electronic Filing in the Appellate Courts. In January of 2006, the Task Force submitted its “Report and Recommendations” to the Court, along with proposed Provisional Rule 46, Tenn. Sup. Ct. R., to establish a two-year pilot project for voluntary electronic filing in the appellate courts. The Appellate Court Clerk and the Administrative Office of the Courts then issued an RFP seeking vendors to implement the pilot project.
However, now it appears the e-filing project is another casualty of the weak economy and resulting state budgetary crisis. Recently the State Administrative Office of the Courts gave notice that the request for proposal for the e-filing pilot project was being canceled. The "present budgetary situation" and the receipt of only one RFP proposal were the stated grounds for the cancellation of the project. I suspect it was more of the former that killed the project.
It appears e-filing will not be a reality in the Tennessee State Court system anytime soon.
Dan Berexa
Nashville, Tennessee
Nice picture--where'd you get it?
Posted by: | July 14, 2008 at 09:05 PM