Ashtabula County Clerk of Courts April Daniels said when she was elected almost four and a half years ago, the county was keeping court records on carbon copies. She said a transition to white paper occurred, but it became clear storage space was an issue.
“It became clear we didn’t have the room,” she said.
At that time discussions revolved around a transition to an electronic system.
In 2022, a presentation was made to the Ashtabula County Board of Commissioners regarding a possible alternative. The commissioners thought it was a good idea, and committed $950,000 of American Rescue Plan Act funds to the project, Commissioner Casey Kozlowski said.
The case management system chosen is CourtView 3, and will eventual allow for electronic filing of court documents.
Daniels said the system will include Ashtabula County Common Pleas Court, Ashtabula County Juvenile/Probate Court, Eastern County Court and Western County Court. She said it will also approve beneficial to the public and other county entities including the Ashtabula County Prosecutor’s Office.
Ashtabula County Prosecutor April Grabman said she was involved in the project from the start, and is excited about the opportunity.
She said she helped prepare the proposal while working for the Ashtabula County Common Pleas Court.
Grabman said it has been fun to watch the project develop.
“It is going to allow the public to have images from court records,” she said.
Daniels said training for the program is scheduled to begin April 7, and the system is scheduled to start June 1, with electronic filing likely available in the fall.
One of the big advantages will be for court case participants and attorneys, as they will be able to gain information right from their computers instead of coming to the courthouse for a copy of a particular part of the court docket.
Kozlowski said the entire project will be paid from ARPA funds, and an Ohio Supreme Court grant has been applied for to handle some of the finances for the electronic system.
He said the costs include equipment, licensing of software costs to name a few.
Daniels said department heads or representatives have been involved in regular meetings on the overall project. She said the individual training will give those using the system several months to prepare for the big change.
She said training videos have been provided by the company that can be viewed later if a training event is missed.
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