Clarifying e-filing of appellate briefs

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Readers of the Wisconsin Law Journal’s July 10, 2009 article on appellate e-filing may come away with misimpressions of a number of key aspects of Wisconsin’s appellate e-filing system. Here’s some correction and clarification:

Attorneys do not need to purchase any additional software. All that is needed is a computer and an Internet connection. Most current word processing software includes a PDF conversion function, but if yours doesn’t have one, free PDF conversion software is available on the Web (www.cutePDF.com). Attorneys who are using typewriters to produce their briefs can take advantage of Wis. Stat. 809.19(g), which provides an exemption from the e-filing requirement for those without the technological capability to e-file.

The system is easy to use and is free for attorneys. Once an attorney is registered for the system, an e-filing can be accomplished in less than one minute. The attorney needs three items of information: a username, password, and PIN number. If any or all of these items are forgotten, the system provides recovery functions that will send the attorney an e-mail with the missing information instantly. The document access verification code is a one-time step for security purposes. In less than two weeks, more than 150 attorneys have successfully used the system, and, unlike the federal system, the system allows unlimited views, downloading, and printing of documents — not “one free look.”

A wealth of information about the e-filing system, including on-line videos demonstrating the e-filing process, is available on the courts’ Web site at:

http://wicourts.gov/services/attorney/electronicfileac.htm

Appellate e-filing benefits the people of Wisconsin, including attorneys. The benefits of the system are many: It enables appellate judges and justices to do their work more efficiently and cost-effectively, potentially reducing the time needed to complete cases. It aids the court’s goals of openness and accountability by providing the attorneys’ arguments — their briefs — to the public during the pendency of an appeal. It provides a new source of legal research for attorneys — a free text-searchable briefs database. It provides attorneys with a new tool — the creation of briefs incorporating links to cases and statues. And it paves the way for a greener future, when electronic documents replace paper copies and the circuit court record is transmitted electronically.

Electronic filing and e-commerce have generated new efficiencies and cost-savings throughout state and federal government. Appellate and circuit court e-filing are important steps toward reaching those goals in Wisconsin’s judicial system.

David Schanker
Clerk, Wisconsin Supreme Court