(INDIANAPOLIS) – The last of Indiana’s counties instituted electronic filing for its courts last month. The Indiana Supreme Court is looking for the next tech upgrade.
Chief Justice Loretta Rush predicts universal electronic filing will not only make courts more accessible, but save counties time and money. Now that electronic filing is available statewide, she says the next step is to embed hyperlinks, so that lawyers pointing a judge to a prior case in their briefs can allow the judge to go to that citation directly.
Rush says the courts have been making more use of tech in other ways. Some counties now text defendants with reminders of court dates to cut down on no-shows. And counties with special veterans’ courts are cross-checking records with databases of veterans to see who’s eligible.
A Supreme Court innovation task force is keeping an eye out for what might come next. Rush says the task force is trying to anticipate changes that are five or ten years away, without adding technology just for its own sake.
Chief Justice Loretta Rush (Photo: Eric Berman/WIBC)
