CTC Session Articles
Education Session Article
This article was written in support of a presentation given at CTC7 in 2001.
Philadelphia Municipal Court CLAIMS Project - The Electronic Court House
By Robert S. Blasi
History
The Philadelphia Municipal Court was established through a 1968 amendment to the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Municipal Court is a court of limited jurisdiction with 25 law trained Judges. The Court is divided into two divisions: Criminal and Civil.
The Civil Division shares jurisdiction with the Court of Common Pleas where the amount in controversy is $10,000 or less. The Court has jurisdiction in all landlord-tenant disputes concerning possession without monetary limit, certain Code Enforcement cases, Private Criminal Complaints, Nuisance Complaints, and School and Real Estate Tax cases. Because there is no right to a trial by jury, all cases may be appealed to the Court of Common Pleas for a trial de novo. Less than 1% of all the cases filed are appealed.
There are five trial courtrooms with law trained Judges assigned and two courtrooms with Trial Commissioners. Typically, each year there are close to 170,000 cases initiated (90,000 Code Enforcement, 50,000 Small Claims, 25,000 Landlord-Tenant Claims and 5,000 Private Criminal and Nuisance Complaints). There are over 15,000 Writs of Execution filed and several thousand Petitions and Motions.
Municipal Court, which is often referred to as the "People’s Court" in Philadelphia, prides itself in being friendly to pro se litigants. Court personnel assist litigants in all aspects of the Court from case initiation to execution.
Civil Automation Project
When the Honorable Robert S. Blasi was appointed the first Administrative Judge of Philadelphia Municipal Court in October of 1997, Small Claims case initiation was virtually the same as when the Court was formed some 30 years ago. A pro se litigant would provide information to an Interviewer who would hand write it. The Interviewer would pass the written information to a Typist who would type it onto a multi page carbon snap set Small Claim’s form. Once completed, the Small Claim would be reviewed by the Interviewer and the Plaintiff. If no changes were required, the Claim would continue through a completely manual process where everything from service of process through execution was performed by hand.
In the Spring of 1998, Administrative Judge Blasi recognized the need for automation. He often is heard stating that the 20th century passed Municipal Court with virtually no change from the way cases were handled in the 19th century. He decided to lead the Court into the 21st century with an automated civil case management system to handle the 160,000 plus cases that are initiated each year. To spearhead this change, the Judge appointed Glenn S. Bozzacco, Esquire as the Director and Maria Criniti as the Manager of the Municipal Court Civil Automation Project. Steering and working committees were formed and a nationwide search for the right system began. Judge Blasi wanted a system that would integrate case management, document management and electronic filling in a way that would permit the Court to operate in a paper-less environment for all its case types including the bulk filers.
Electronic Filing Pilot
In the Winter of 2000, Joseph DiPrimio, Court Administrator of the First Judicial District, introduced Philadelphia Municipal Court to Verilaw Technologies, Inc. Verilaw agreed to team up with Municipal Court and diligently developed an integrated Web based system that includes electronic filing, electronic commerce, online docketing, online forms processing, case management and document management. The entire system is capable of operating in a paper less environment, from case initiation, to return of service and through the disposition in the Courtroom. All of the data entry, scheduling, docketing and disposition tasks are performed electronically.
Testing started in March of 2000. On Thursday, April 13, 2000 Administrative Judge Blasi and Project Director Glenn S. Bozzacco traveled to an attorney’s law office in Wayne, Pennsylvania. At 1:00 p.m. the attorney registered as the first electronic filing user in the pilot program. He then electronically entered claim information concerning a small claim collection a matter and submitted it to Municipal Court for validation. As part of a demonstration at a technology conference in Orlando, Florida, Maria Criniti, on behalf of Philadelphia Municipal Court, validated the claim. At this point it was given a Term Number (00-04-8005) and it became the first case to be filed electronically.
As of May 1, 2001 several thousand cases have been initiated through the pilot, and close to a thousand cases have been disposed of electronically in the courtroom via the Internet.
CLAIMS (Civil Litigation Automated Internet Municipal court System)
In the Fall of 2000, Philadelphia Municipal Court entered a contract with the successful bidder (Verilaw) to provide an integrated Web based case management, document management, and electronic filing system - CLAIMS. In the beginning of Summer 2001 case initiation for the City’s Code Enforcement cases will be through CLAIMS. The City files 90,000 Code Enforcement complaints a year. In most instances, the complaints will be generated by an electronic data exchange from the City’s data base into CLAIMS. By the Fall of 2001 CLAIMS will be completed and applied to all cases in Municipal Court. Administrative Judge Blasi’s vision of operating the 4th largest court in the country in a paper less environment will be a reality. All cases will be initiated electronically, with dispositions entered real time in the courtroom and viewable by everyone instantly via the Internet. The days of typewriters and maybe even paper will soon be a memory in Philadelphia Municipal Court.
Why File Electronically via the Internet?
Electronic filing permits attorneys using the Internet to transfer litigation documents to courts and other attorneys. Because of the tremendous efficiency electronic filing adds to the legal process, there is little doubt it will soon be the standard method for filing documents in the American legal system.
The ABA Standing Committee on Technology and Information Systems posts a resolution on their Web page (http://www.abanet.org/tech/ltrc/ldiresolution.html (This link is no longer valid. The text of the link remains for historical reference.)) calling for the Courts to:
- provide the public electronic access through the Internet at no cost to the user, and
- provide electronic filing and retrieval of documents through the Internet.
Efiling benefits the courts by streamlining the dissemination of information from the courts to attorneys, and by automating the flow of information from attorneys to the courts.
Electronic Filing in Pennsylvania
On June 14, 1999, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Amended Civil Rule 205.4 to facilitate electronic filing in Pennsylvania Courts. As amended, Rule 205.4 (b) states that:
A party may file a legal paper with the Prothonotary by means of electronic filing if electronic filing is permitted by general rule, rule of court or special order of the court. The filing shall Be in the format of Adobe PDF, WordPerfect for Windows or Microsoft Word for Windows. Except as otherwise provided by law, a legal paper filed electronically shall be deemed the equivalent of the original document.
According its Explanatory Comment, Rule 205.4 "is intended as a further step in the process of introducing the concept of electronic documents into a system accustomed solely to paper documents." Philadelphia Municipal Court was the first Pennsylvania Court to implement electronic filing pursuant to this rule.
Critical System Features
The most critical features of any efiling system are those relating to its reliability, security, and support. The Municipal Court’s efiling system incorporates the same state-of-the-art reliability and security systems that have become the standards for other industries dependant on sensitive data such as banking and medical records.
Municipal Court’s CLAIMS system is co-located Exodus Communications, Inc., one of the nation’s most prominent web hosting facilities. Exodus provides the most sophisticated technologies available in the world to ensure the reliability and security of the sites it hosts. For this reason, Exodus hosts hundreds of the world’s leading technology businesses, including mission-critical services for firms such as Ebay, Lycos, Yahoo!, Sun Microsystems, and The Weather Channel.
The Municipal Court’s CLAIMS system incorporates state-of-the-art security features to prevent unauthorized access to case information and court data. The system can monitor every action taken by users while logged-in. In the unlikely event these security features become compromised however, data integrity is protected by special features that detect any alteration to a document immediately and allow all affected parties to be notified.
Finally, the system automatically generates daily backup copies of all court data. Copies of court data are routinely stored off-site to protect information in the unlikely event the physical environment at Exodus is compromised.
Since the Municipal Court’s efiling CLAIMS system is a browser-based web application, it is designed to be very easy to maintain and support. The system requires little user training. Similarly, customer support personnel can be deployed rapidly as the system’s user-base expands.
CLAIMS Processing
1) Attorney Functions
a. Logging-On
From the Municipal Courts’s Welcome Screen users can search for case files or click on the icon marked "log in" to enter the password-protected efiling system. Access to the court’s efiling system is restricted to Registered Users. At present, the system is limited to a select number of bulk-filing collection attorneys who are participating in the pilot. Different levels of system access are provided to the different classes of users. Based upon the user name entered, the system grants access to attorney, court administration, or Trial Commissioner functions.
b. Initiating Claims
From the Attorney’s Main Menu users can select among several different actions. They may initiate claims, schedule hearings, create or modify directories of clients, review their accounts, or review claims they have generated in the past. By clicking on the link marked "Initiate Claim" users can begin the process of entering data to be reflected on a completed Statement of Claim to be filed with the Court.
The system allows attorneys to enter a plaintiff’s data manually, or automatically by clicking on a particular plaintiff from his or her Client Listing. Those attorneys who store such information in computer databases will soon be able to export complete claim information to the court’s efiling system automatically though a specially designed interface between the two systems.
The Municipal Court’s CLAIMS system helps reduce many of the errors in complaints that typically result in rejected forms. For example, once an attorney enters a defendant’s address, the system automatically prompts the attorney to choose among the applicable service methods. Improper service methods are eliminated based upon each defendant’s address. The system also ensures that defendants who are spouses are properly identified, as well as non-married defendants sharing the same address. If an attorney attempts to complete a claim without indicating a defendant’s military status, or without providing a verification, the system will not allow him to proceed. At any time up until he files his claim with the Court, an attorney may edit claim data by clicking on any of the links on the Party Entry Page.
Once an attorney has finished entering parties, he may complete a filing by entering a description of the claim, along with the damage amount sought. Finally, he must indicate whether his is including an exhibit. If so, he must scan the exhibit and attach the file. If not, he must indicate that no exhibit is necessary t support his claim, the system provides a File ID number, and reminds the attorney that the claim must be validated by the Court before it will be assigned as SC number.
c. Scheduling Hearing
At any time, an attorney can assign pending claims to hearing dates available with the Court. The online Hearing Calendar indicates which dates are available, and the number of hearings that any particular attorney has already scheduled. By clicking on one of the available dates, any attorney is able to schedule up to 40 claims for any one session. Once a claim is scheduled for a hearing, the system provides the filing attorney with a confirmation screen that itemizes all of the Court’s associated charges.
d. Managing Files
From the attorneys main menu, a user can easily review his existing claims. The system can show all claims, or filter an attorney’s list of claims on the basis of each claim’s status: pending submission to the Court; returned by the Court due to deficiencies; submitted to the Court and pending approval; approved by the Court and pending adjudication; and adjudicated.
2.) Court Functions
While it’s benefits to attorneys are readily apparent, the Municipal Court’s CLAIMS system offers significant new efficiencies for court personnel as well.
a. Validating Attorney Filings
A special Main Menu appears when authorized court personnel long onto the system. Court personnel can use the efiling system to: validate claims that have been filed; print complete case files; file returns of service; mange attorney user accounts; maintain the court’s hearing calendar; run reports; and conduct hearings.
b. Reviewing Completed Cases
By clicking on the link marked "Validate Documents" a clerk will be taken to a screen listing all claims that have been submitted to the Court but not yet reviewed for approval. Clicking on the File ID number of one of the claims brings up a Case Information screen which and other documents automatically generated by the system. Once a clerk validates a claim, the system assigns an SC number and provides confirmation to bother the clerk and the filing attorney.
c. Printing Complete Case Files
The CLAIMS system offers court personnel the convenience of printing complete case files which contain the Statement of Claim, exhibits, and every other document associated with a particular case file.
d. Filing Returns of Service
As court personnel receive Returns of Service, they can include electronic images of the actual documents with the appropriate case files by scanning each Return of Service and importing the resulting files to the Court’s CLAIMS system through a simple two-step interface.
e. Managing Hearing Schedules
A link on the court staffs Main Menu brings up a screen that provides a simple method for maintaining the court’s calendar. By clicking on a particular date, a member of the court’s staff can easily preclude or limit hearings on that day. The system allows authorized court staff to post short notes to be displayed on the court calendar that is available to other users of the system.
f. Conducting Hearings
Using a special user name and password, a Judge can directly access the hearing list for any particular day. The Judge may sort each day’s list in a variety of ways. From any hearing list, a Judge can view the complete information for any particular claim by clicking on the relevant docket number. By clicking on a defendant’s name, Court personnel can generate a Disposition screen and enter any type of judgment against or in favor of, the defendant. Upon entry of a judgment, the system generates an appropriate Disposition Form.
Summary
Using the Municipal Court’s Efiling System, attorneys can file claims by proceeding through a number of screens where they can enter the information necessary to initiate a claim and effectuate service of process on each of the defendants. Once an attorney finishes entering the necessary data, the attorney can schedule a hearing on his or her claim directly over the court’s site. The court’s system generates a Statement of Claim form for each filing. The Statement of Claim and other documents automatically generated by the system will then be available to the process-server selected by the attorney. The system further automates the processing of each claim by tracking all filings and providing an on-screen mechanism for the disposition of claims by a Judge.
Robert S. Blasi
Honorable Robert S. Blasi
Administrative Judge
Philadelphia Municipal Court
Biographical Information
This biographical information may date from as far back as 2001. Please keep in mind that it may no longer be accurate.
Robert S. Blasi
Administrative Judge
Philadelphia Municipal Court