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The Florida Courts ePortal eFiling Overview

The Florida Courts ePortal eFiling Overview. The Florida Courts ePortal is housed within a public entity called the “Florida Courts E-Filing Authority” The E-Filing Authority is a Chapter 163 Public Entity established by Interlocal Agreement

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The Florida Courts ePortal eFiling Overview

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  1. The Florida Courts ePortal eFiling Overview

  2. The Florida Courts ePortal is housed within a public entity called the “Florida Courts E-Filing Authority” The E-Filing Authority is a Chapter 163 Public Entity established by Interlocal Agreement The Florida E-Filing Authority contracts with the FCCC for the development, implementation, operation and maintenance of the ePortal Access the E-Filing Authority Homepage www.myflcourtaccess.com E-FILING AUTHORITY BOARD OF DIRECTORS Hon. Tim Smith, Putnam County Clerk and Comptroller - Chair Hon. Joseph E. Smith, St. Lucie County Clerk and Comptroller, Vice Chair - District V Hon. Tara Green, Clay County Clerk and Comptroller, Secretary/Treasurer - District III Hon. Thomas D. Hall, Clerk of the Supreme Court Hon. Bob Inzer, Leon County Clerk and Comptroller - District II Hon. Alex Alford, Walton County Clerk and Comptroller, - District I Hon. Don Barbee, Hernando County Clerk and Comptroller - District IV Hon. Karen Rushing, Sarasota County Clerk and Comptroller - District VI Hon. Sharon Bock, Palm Beach County Clerk and Comptroller - District VII ePortal Governance eFiling Overview

  3. How We Got Here • Development of the ePortal began in 2010 • Civil eFiling capability was established in January 2011 • Criminal eFiling capability has been established and will be implemented in a phased approach throughout 2013 • Appellate eFiling capability has been established in 2013 and phased in, beginning with the Supreme Court in February • More than 3,500,000 case filings have been electronically filed through the ePortal in the first 7 months of 2013 eFiling Overview

  4. What is the ePortal? • www.myflcourtaccess.com • eFiling and eRecording capability • Single statewide login for all users • Single web access used to submit court documents • Transmits to local Clerk case maintenance and recording systems • Provides electronic notifications to the filer and to the Clerks’ offices • Part of the Statewide Integrated Court System eFiling Overview

  5. Statewide Integrated Court System Filers • SA/PD Existing Systems • STAC/Other Systems • New Cases • Existing Cases ECF XML Web Statewide ePortal ECF XML Replaces 3 Delivery Methods In Person Mail E Documents • 67 Clerks of Court • Case Initiation, Indexing, Docketing • Official Court Record/Document Prep • Fee Collection and Accounting Local Clerk CMS • Local/Statewide Integration • Judicial • Law Enforcement • State Attorney/Public Defender • Statewide Access/Standards • Case Management Reporting • Statewide Reporting • Integration with Partners

  6. ePortal Usage Overview • Create case documents on your computer as normal • Login to the ePortal website • Complete the required information and attach your document(s) • Pay, if required, and submit the filing • Receive automated filing confirmation from the Clerk’s office • Access to all of your electronic filings on the ePortal or at the Clerk’s website eFiling Overview

  7. Document Types Supported • The ePortal supports document uploads MS Word, WordPerfect, and PDF formats • The ePortal delivers documents to the Clerk’s local Case Maintenance System in PDF format • The ePortal can also convert documents to TIFF format if the local Document Management System cannot eFiling Overview

  8. Timestamps • As defined in Standards for Electronic Access to the Courts (AO 09-30) • An electronic filing may be submitted to the portal at any time of the day or night, twenty four (24) hours a day seven days a week; the portal shall place a time/date stamp. However, the filing will not be official information of record until it has been stored on the clerk’s case maintenance system. • All dates and times, including when the filing is received at the ePortal and when the filing is accepted by the clerk, are stored in the ePortal database to ensure the accuracy and consistency of when the event took place. eFiling Overview

  9. Fees • Authorized filers may access the ePortal and file existing case filings at no charge. If a filing requires statutory filing fees, the filer may pay using a credit card or ACH transaction and will be charged a transaction fee which will be used to cover the associated banking and merchant fees as allowed by Florida Statutes. • The Florida Courts E-Filing Authority has set the following transaction fees: • Credit Cards = 3% of Filing Fee • ACH = $3 flat rate eFiling Overview

  10. Notifications • Receipt of subscriber registration • Activation of subscriber account • Changes to subscriber profile including login credentials • Receipt of a filing by the ePortal including: • Filing ID (reference) number • Court filed in (county and division) • Case Number (if existing case) • Date / Time • Acceptance of a filing by the Clerk’s system (including case number if a new case) • Notification and explanation for correcting a filing eFiling Overview

  11. Sample Notification Email eFiling Overview

  12. Access to Filings & Case Information • The ePortal provides access to filings via the My Trial Court Filings/My Appellate Court Filingspage • Once the filing is accepted into the Clerk’s local Case Maintenance System, this becomes the official court record just like the former paper process • Permanent access to these documents and complete case information will continue to be provided through existing methods such as local Clerk web sites and CCIS links eFiling Overview

  13. User Account Administration • Filers can register online and manage their own accounts • Law Firms or Agencies can be setup with an administrator to manage all of the organization’s users • Clerk’s offices can manage accounts eFiling Overview

  14. Electronic Signatures • As defined in Standards for Electronic Access to the Courts (AO 09-30) • A pleading or other document is not required to bear the electronic image of the handwritten signature or an encrypted signature of the filer, but may be signed in the following manner when electronically filed through a registered user’s login and password. • s/ John Doe • John Doe (e-mail address) • Bar Number 12345 • Attorney for (Plaintiff/Defendant) • XYZ Company • ABC Law Firm • 123 South Street Orlando, FL 32800 • Telephone: (407) 123-4567 eFiling Overview

  15. Confidential Information • Compliance with Rule 2.420 for documents containing confidential information ePortal Documents Screen ePortal Review & Submit Screen eFiling Overview

  16. Document Submission Standards • Documents should be a standard size of 8 ½ x 11 inches (as defined in RJA 2.520) • Documents should leave blank a 3 x 3 inch space at the top right-hand corner on the first page, and a 1 x 3 inch space at the top right-hand corner on each subsequent page, to accommodate statewide standard date/time stamps (as defined in RJA 2.520) • Where possible, documents should be electronically signed • Black and white, non-color documents are preferred • Scanned documents should be at a resolution of 300 DPI (as defined in the State of Florida Electronic Records and Records Management Practices) • Multiple pleadings, motions, etc. should not be combined into one single file; each individual document should be uploaded via the ePortal document submission process • A deviation from these guidelines may result in the submitted filing being moved to a Pending Queue with the filer being notified via email and requested to correct the issue(s) with the document(s) and resubmit the filing eFiling Overview

  17. Document Submission Standards (cont.) • Electronic submission of documents outside the ePortal • For documents that exceed the 25 MB size limit or whose dimensions exceed the 8 ½ x 11 inch standard, electronic transmission should be accomplished using an electronic storage medium that the Clerk has the ability to accept, which may include a CD-ROM, flash drive, or similar storage medium as defined in SC11-399 • Original Documents • Documents that must be maintained in original form may be electronically filed through the ePortal but must also be deposited with the Clerk and maintained for safekeeping as defined in SC11-399. Examples include wills, codicils, deeds, verified and sworn documents, original paper judgments and sentences, etc. Questions regarding original documents should be directed to your local Clerk’s Office. eFiling Overview

  18. Correcting Filings • As specified in Standards for Electronic Access to the Courts (AO 09-30) • Any filing that contains incorrect information will be moved to a Pending Queue by the Clerk’s office • The filer will be automatically notified of the corrections that need to be made and the filing will show in a Pending Queue status • The filer has 5 business days from the time the filing is moved to the Pending Queue to correct and resubmit the filing • If the filer does not submit a corrected filing, the Clerk’s office will File it for Judicial Review and the filer will be automatically notified; at this point, no further actions may be taken on this filing • Attorneys may not “withdraw” filings; once submitted, a filing must go through the Pending Queue process and be corrected and resubmitted eFiling Overview

  19. Current eFiling Status • 65 counties support eFiling in the Civil divisions • Clay and Sarasota will be live by 10/1/13 (AO SC13-12) • 13 counties currently accepting eFilings on existing Criminal cases • All counties are actively testing for a go-live of 10/1/13 • Appellate eFiling began with the Supreme Court in February • The 2nd District Courts of Appeal went live in August 2013. Other DCA’s will be phased in. eFiling Overview

  20. Court Ordered Mandatory Dates • E-Mail Service by Attorneys • September 1, 2012 • Mandatory Civil eFiling • April 1, 2013 • Mandatory Criminal eFiling • October 1, 2013 • Mandatory Appellate eFiling • Supreme Court: February 27, 2013 • District Courts of Appeal: Phased in from July 2013 to July 2014 • Electronic Transmission of Records on Appeal(Clerk’s office to Appellate Court) • July 1, 2014 eFiling Overview

  21. ePortal Support • ePortal User Documentation • eFiler Manual (Filer Documentation link in footer of the ePortal) • Reviewer Manual (Reviewer Documentation link in footer of the ePortal) • County Administrator Manual (available on the Clerk Intranet) • Law Firm Administrator Manual (available on the Clerk Intranet) • Support for Attorneys & Paralegals • support@myflcourtaccess.com • 850-577-4609 • Support for Clerk’s Offices • support@flclerks.com • 850-414-2210 eFiling Overview

  22. Florida Courts E-Filing Authority Board August E-Filing Update

  23. E-Filing Portal Usage Statistics July Activity

  24. July Portal Usage Statistics

  25. July E-Filings By Day

  26. Weekday E-Filings - Average Per Hour

  27. Criminal E-Filing July Progress Report

  28. Criminal E-Filing Status • 53 Counties • Criminal Divisions are Enabled in the Test Region • Single Session Verification is In Process • Limited CBI Integration Testing is Occurring • 13 Counties • Accept single session criminal filings in the production region

  29. What’s Next • Criminal E-Filing • Mandatory Date to E-File is October 1, 2013 • Standardized Docket Codes enable SA and PD to automate their E-Filing • Each county must prepare now to enable SA and PD to complete automation • Map local docket codes to Standardized Criminal Docket Descriptions (SCDD) • Supreme Court AO 13-12

  30. County Readiness by Circuit

  31. County Readinessby Circuit

  32. County Readinessby Circuit

  33. County Readinessby Circuit

  34. County Readinessby Circuit

  35. County Readiness by Circuit

  36. County Readinessby Circuit

  37. Criminal Batch Interface Update CBI Progress Report To Date

  38. CBI State Attorney Report

  39. CBI State Attorney Report

  40. CBI Public Defender Report

  41. CBI Public Defender Report

  42. Appellate Readiness Report Progress Report To Date

  43. Appellate Readiness Report

  44. E-Filing Portal Projects in Progress Progress Report To Date

  45. 2013 Projects In Progress

  46. Closing Questions / Comments / Suggestions eFiling Overview

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