In an effort to reduce the amount of paper that lawyers generate, the Texas Supreme Court mandated that all civil and family pleadings be filed electronically. On the one hand it's great because you can sit down at your desk, draft the pleadings and file them at any time without having to drive downtown. Of course now there are more folks with their hands in the pie taking a cut of the fees so it costs a bit more - but probably no more than the gas and parking for going downtown.
Unfortunately, at least in the family courts, e-filing has caused things to bog down. Here's an example.
Back on the 12th of June I filed a divorce petition and request for a temporary restraining order. Now, in the old days we would go to the filing window in the basement of the Family Law Center, file our petitions, pay the filing fees and, if there was a TRO to be signed, take the file from the clerk and walk it up to the courtroom for the judge to sign. After it was signed we'd walk it back down to the clerk and it would go in the stack to be processed. Generally within a week the paperwork was ready to be picked up and served.
No more.
After filing the petition on a Thursday evening, I had to wait until Tuesday for it to be signed by the judge (in all fairness, the judge was out of town on Friday after I filed the petition). So far so good, more or less. But then the paperwork got lost in the ether at the Civil Courthouse. On Friday the 20th I went to the window for the family section and asked if the petition was ready to be picked up. I was told by the clerk that it wasn't and that I should check back on Monday or Tuesday.
Since I was scheduled for trial yesterday I decided I wouldn't go to the courthouse on Monday - I figured it gave me better odds of not wasting my time. So yesterday I stopped back by the family section before heading over to the Criminal (In)justice Center. I was expecting to pick up the paperwork so that I could serve it on the husband.
But, to my surprise, it still wasn't ready to be picked up. I was told to come back by on Wednesday to see if it was ready.
Assuming it is ready for pick up today, it will have taken almost two full weeks for the petition to be filed, the TRO to be signed and the citation produced. That is a ridiculous timeline. Shouldn't one of the benefits of e-filing be speedier turn-around time? The process now takes longer than the old paper filing system did.
And this fiasco is just part of the story. Under Chris Daniel's "leadership," not only does it take longer to initiate a new case, going on-line to the website to check on the status of a case is often a hit-or-miss affair. The website's search database is prone to crashing and bringing the system to a halt.
Since Mr. Daniel decided to take the old Justice Information Management System and migrate it to the searchable database, attorneys and bondsmen looking for current information on a defendant's status find themselves having to wait for hours for the system to update itself.
Mr. Daniel has done everything he can to promote himself with an election coming up in November. For those folks who don't deal with the courthouses on a daily basis, the mere fact that he has an "R" after his name will be enough to get him lots and lots of votes in the vapid suburbs. For the rest of us, however, his tenure has been an exercise in just keeping one's head above water. The District Clerk's Office certainly isn't in better shape today than it was before he was elected. The prospects for the future aren't much brighter, I'm afraid.
For all the hoopla about e-filing, the actual product has failed to live up to expectations and a two-week lag between filing a petition and picking up the citation is nothing short of pathetic. Maybe if Mr. Daniel spent more time managing the office and less time campaigning things would work better.
Showing posts with label Harris County District Clerk. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Harris County District Clerk. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Friday, January 31, 2014
Proxy war in Harris County?
Four years ago Chris Daniel won the race for Harris County District Clerk over the incumbent Loren Jackson. Under Mr. Jackson's leadership the District Clerk's Office moved out of the Stone Age and into something that resembled our modern times. Alas, Mr. Jackson won election to an unexpired term in 2008 on the coattails of Barack Obama (perhaps you've heard of him) and was swept out in the next election.
Mr. Daniel has moved forward with the changes Mr. Jackson made - but with a bit more of an eye on the publicity side. He cruises around town in his gas guzzling Hummer with campaign signs in the windows. Subtle is one characteristic no one would ever use to describe Mr. Daniel.
In all honesty I haven't been able to tell any difference in the way the office functions under Mr. Daniel than it did under Mr. Jackson - and, as a largely administrative office, that's just the way it should be. There have been some problems here and there but the move to all-electronic filing is getting there. Some changes haven't met with as much enthusiasm as others, but, all in all, he hasn't done a bad job.
In fact, during Mr. Daniel's time in office the number of folks reporting for jury duty has increased. While it's still pathetically low any improvement is a good thing.
But there are some in the Republican community who are upset with Mr. Daniel. Chief among them is the head wing nut in Harris County, State Senator Dan Patrick. Now I wish I could find a clip of Mr. Patrick painting himself blue for an Oilers' playoff game back in the 70's but since YouTube didn't exist back then those clips are rare to find.
The darling in Mr. Patrick's eye is his former employee, Court Koenning. Why exactly he's running for District Clerk isn't quite clear. There isn't exactly what I would call a groundswell of opposition to the way Mr. Daniel is running the office.
Even more curious is Mr. Koenning's website with endorsements from leading wing nuts in Harris County.
Sen. Patrick touts Mr. Koenning as a "conservative leader." State Rep. Patricia Harless says he will be "an outspoken advocate for conservatives at the courthouse." State Rep. Allen Fletcher champions his "conservative vision."
I am still trying to figure out what being a liberal, a conservative, a Marxist or a neo-fascist has to do with running the District Clerk's office. Your job as clerk is to make it as easy as possible for folks to file suits and for the courts to get the filings they need. Your job is to make the process of obtaining certified copies of filings as painless as possible. Your job is to send out jury summonses. That's about it.
One's politics shouldn't matter. Can you get the job done or not? That's the only question that needs to be answered.
Mr. Koenning's biggest issue seems to be the low turnout for jury duty. In 2010 turnout for jury duty was about 30%. Four years later that number is up to 34%. While that number is still pathetic, it is an improvement. And Chris Daniel does have it right when he says the way to improve turnout is to make it a more positive experience rather than trying to sanction those who fail to appear.
Mr. Koenning's idea is to allow potential jurors to check their status on-line. The only problem is that not everyone has internet access. Under such a system we will end up with juries disproportionately made up of higher income, better educated citizens. What now passes as a jury of one's peers will change to a jury of one's suburban peers. By focusing on these folks, Mr. Koenning's plan would increase the number of jurors more sympathetic to the prosecution.
A jury pool works best when it is made up of a broad cross-section of the community and not a bunch of folks with internet access who feel comfortable with technology.
While this is certainly no endorsement of Chris Daniel, it should serve as a warning about the creation of made-for-election issues. I would love to be a fly on the wall so I could figure out what's really going on behind the scenes with this race. My guess is it's being used as a battleground for a fight between the far right wing of the GOP led by Dan Patrick and the more moderate wing led by whoever leads the mythical moderate wing of the Republican Party in Texas.
Mr. Daniel has moved forward with the changes Mr. Jackson made - but with a bit more of an eye on the publicity side. He cruises around town in his gas guzzling Hummer with campaign signs in the windows. Subtle is one characteristic no one would ever use to describe Mr. Daniel.
In all honesty I haven't been able to tell any difference in the way the office functions under Mr. Daniel than it did under Mr. Jackson - and, as a largely administrative office, that's just the way it should be. There have been some problems here and there but the move to all-electronic filing is getting there. Some changes haven't met with as much enthusiasm as others, but, all in all, he hasn't done a bad job.
In fact, during Mr. Daniel's time in office the number of folks reporting for jury duty has increased. While it's still pathetically low any improvement is a good thing.
But there are some in the Republican community who are upset with Mr. Daniel. Chief among them is the head wing nut in Harris County, State Senator Dan Patrick. Now I wish I could find a clip of Mr. Patrick painting himself blue for an Oilers' playoff game back in the 70's but since YouTube didn't exist back then those clips are rare to find.
The darling in Mr. Patrick's eye is his former employee, Court Koenning. Why exactly he's running for District Clerk isn't quite clear. There isn't exactly what I would call a groundswell of opposition to the way Mr. Daniel is running the office.
Even more curious is Mr. Koenning's website with endorsements from leading wing nuts in Harris County.
Sen. Patrick touts Mr. Koenning as a "conservative leader." State Rep. Patricia Harless says he will be "an outspoken advocate for conservatives at the courthouse." State Rep. Allen Fletcher champions his "conservative vision."
I am still trying to figure out what being a liberal, a conservative, a Marxist or a neo-fascist has to do with running the District Clerk's office. Your job as clerk is to make it as easy as possible for folks to file suits and for the courts to get the filings they need. Your job is to make the process of obtaining certified copies of filings as painless as possible. Your job is to send out jury summonses. That's about it.
One's politics shouldn't matter. Can you get the job done or not? That's the only question that needs to be answered.
Mr. Koenning's biggest issue seems to be the low turnout for jury duty. In 2010 turnout for jury duty was about 30%. Four years later that number is up to 34%. While that number is still pathetic, it is an improvement. And Chris Daniel does have it right when he says the way to improve turnout is to make it a more positive experience rather than trying to sanction those who fail to appear.
Mr. Koenning's idea is to allow potential jurors to check their status on-line. The only problem is that not everyone has internet access. Under such a system we will end up with juries disproportionately made up of higher income, better educated citizens. What now passes as a jury of one's peers will change to a jury of one's suburban peers. By focusing on these folks, Mr. Koenning's plan would increase the number of jurors more sympathetic to the prosecution.
A jury pool works best when it is made up of a broad cross-section of the community and not a bunch of folks with internet access who feel comfortable with technology.
While this is certainly no endorsement of Chris Daniel, it should serve as a warning about the creation of made-for-election issues. I would love to be a fly on the wall so I could figure out what's really going on behind the scenes with this race. My guess is it's being used as a battleground for a fight between the far right wing of the GOP led by Dan Patrick and the more moderate wing led by whoever leads the mythical moderate wing of the Republican Party in Texas.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
E-filing: The bureaucracy strikes back
It seems that whenever someone in government comes up with an innovative plan that, well, makes sense and benefits consumers, there is someone from the Department of Redtape and Inflexibility to squash the idea like a bug. Harris County District Clerk Loren Jackson's proposal to create a free e-filing portal in Harris County is the bug and the state Office of Court Administration is the shoe, according to an article in this week's edition of Texas Lawyer.
Carl Reynolds, the OCA administrative director has called Mr. Jackson's plan "hurtful" and said it could scuttle the state's plan to create a single e-filing site (that charges a "convenience fee" for each filing). As things stand currently, an electronic filing service provider takes your e-filed document and files it with Texas Online who then files it with the district clerk's office -- and the user is charged a fee by each and every entity that "touches" the document.
Texas Online is operated by NIC, Inc. under a contract with the State of Texas. Mr. Reynolds is worried that Mr. Jackson's proposed free e-filing portal would "cripple the funding model for Texas Online." That's right -- the State of Texas is not concerned about the ease of filing documents online, they are only concerned with putting money in the pocket of the company hired to run the system.
And for those of y'all who espouse free and unfettered markets -- Texas Online is a monopoly created by the government. With no competitors in the marketplace and guaranteed payments from the state, what incentive does NIC, Inc. have to make Texas Online any more efficient that it is (or isn't, depending on who you talk to)? And don't forget that the suppliers you have of any given service, the lower the cost due to the pressures of competition (that's a good thing, right?).
And, by the way, Harris County accounts for an average of 34,700 monthly e-filings -- far in excess of the total filings in Travis, Dallas, Bexar and Hidalgo Counties combined (approximately 10,700).
Carl Reynolds, the OCA administrative director has called Mr. Jackson's plan "hurtful" and said it could scuttle the state's plan to create a single e-filing site (that charges a "convenience fee" for each filing). As things stand currently, an electronic filing service provider takes your e-filed document and files it with Texas Online who then files it with the district clerk's office -- and the user is charged a fee by each and every entity that "touches" the document.
Texas Online is operated by NIC, Inc. under a contract with the State of Texas. Mr. Reynolds is worried that Mr. Jackson's proposed free e-filing portal would "cripple the funding model for Texas Online." That's right -- the State of Texas is not concerned about the ease of filing documents online, they are only concerned with putting money in the pocket of the company hired to run the system.
And for those of y'all who espouse free and unfettered markets -- Texas Online is a monopoly created by the government. With no competitors in the marketplace and guaranteed payments from the state, what incentive does NIC, Inc. have to make Texas Online any more efficient that it is (or isn't, depending on who you talk to)? And don't forget that the suppliers you have of any given service, the lower the cost due to the pressures of competition (that's a good thing, right?).
And, by the way, Harris County accounts for an average of 34,700 monthly e-filings -- far in excess of the total filings in Travis, Dallas, Bexar and Hidalgo Counties combined (approximately 10,700).
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Free e-filing is on the way in Harris County
Loren Jackson, the Harris County District Clerk, is on the verge of introducing a free open e-filing portal on the district clerk's website that will allow suits to be filed electronically - saving paper, gas and time along the way.
There has been a sea change in the district clerk's office since Mr. Jackson came into office in 2008 -- both in content and speed. Information on civil and criminal cases can now be pulled up in an instant and certified copies of pleadings, court filings and orders can be order and printed out in just minutes without having to drive over to one of the courthouses. And the cost of this service? Just $1 per page.
What's Mr. Jackson's opponent's campaign message for the fall election? "The office is run too efficiently?" "The level of customer service is too high?" or "Bring back the carbon paper!"
Click here to sign the petition urging the Texas Supreme Court to allow this free e-filing portal in Harris County.
I am happy to announce that pending Texas Supreme Court approval, the Harris County District Clerk's Office will build a free open e-filing portal enabling lawsuits to be filed electronically directly to our office. The move is an effort to further increase judicial efficiency and to save Harris County taxpayers a significant amount in costs each year, as well as to increase transparency in the judicial system by promoting greater public access to court documents and records.
Among several benefits to be delivered by the implementation of the new technology, e-filing will contribute to the reduction of paper printing, cost of processing and storage, and will help attorneys reduce the number of unnecessary trips they make to the courthouse.
The free e-filing portal will also speed up the court document and work flow process, allowing judges to view filed documents within minutes. -- Loren Jackson, HCDC
There has been a sea change in the district clerk's office since Mr. Jackson came into office in 2008 -- both in content and speed. Information on civil and criminal cases can now be pulled up in an instant and certified copies of pleadings, court filings and orders can be order and printed out in just minutes without having to drive over to one of the courthouses. And the cost of this service? Just $1 per page.
What's Mr. Jackson's opponent's campaign message for the fall election? "The office is run too efficiently?" "The level of customer service is too high?" or "Bring back the carbon paper!"
Click here to sign the petition urging the Texas Supreme Court to allow this free e-filing portal in Harris County.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
New appointment system for capital cases in Harris County
A new day is dawning in Harris County when it comes to appointments in capital cases. On Tuesday, a panel of judges introduced a sweeping reform of the manner in which attorneys are appointed to represent indigent defendants charged with capital murder.
Through the creation of a database called the Fair Defense Act Management System, judges will be able to view an attorney's misdemeanor and felony case load before assigning a capital case. Harris County officials hope to avoid future situations in which an attorney accepts more appointed cases than he can handle competently (see "It all adds up to incompetence").
“Do I think sometimes there are folks who are innocent of crimes who are convicted wrongly? Absolutely. This is a great stopgap.” -- Harris County District Clerk Loren Jackson
The creation of this new database is another example of what new Harris County District Clerk Loren Jackson has brought to the table since taking over the office in January. Mr. Jackson has spent his time in office working on ways to use technology to make the flow of information in the District Clerk's office more efficient and more manageable.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)