One of the first goals District Clerk Gary Fitzsimmons identified when he took office in 2007 was the transition of District Courts to paperless filing, case management and records systems.
Mr. Fitzsimmons has actively promoted the use of Texas Online’s e-filing services to expedite the process of getting cases to court, and now the courts’ document management system is well on the path to a paperless conversion.
More than five years ago, the District Clerk’s imaging section, led by Supervisor Harold Denney, shown in photo, began making digital records of documents filed in the District Family Courts. Now, with more than 7,000,000 digitized images placed on a shared database, case documents can be tracked from filing, through each motion, order and other events, to their conclusions without referring to paper case files.
Judge Tena Callahan, in District Family Court 302nd, is the first Judge to have paper cases removed. She says she thoroughly appreciates the speed and efficiency the paperless court system provides her, adding that she often can proceed through a day’s docket without accessing the enormous paper files that accumulate as cases progress.
The District Civil Court phase of the paperless court system is initially being implemented in the 101st as all e-filings in that court are digitized without conversion of documents to paper. Judge Martin Lowy says he is encouraged by the smooth beginning of the project in his court.
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