2021 Judicial Conference Program

interviews and provide feedback. Once feedback is received and any changes made, with the assistance of Government Relations & Public Affairs, there will be a more robust go-live with an ad campaign. e-Service Pilot The Research and Analysis department conducted a survey to gather feedback from the 12 e-Service pilot participants. 73% of the circuit court clerk offices surveyed preferred serving all notices through File & Serve, 64% recommended expanding the program statewide, and 62% indicated that attorneys were receiving documents substantially faster than previously. While the survey results indicated largely positive reactions to e-filing, there were some concerns over the lengthiness of the process for clerk staff and the potential of increased error as a result. A new business process was implemented to address those concerns and the pilot was extended to evaluate the changes. At the conclusion of the pilot, the majority of the courts responded positively to the feedback. Based on this, the committee made the decision to make the e-Service process mandatory for all MDEC jurisdictions. Restricted Information/Confidential Documents During a high-profile case, it was discovered that attorneys on both sides had marked all documents in the case confidential. In File & Serve, attorneys had the ability to mark documents containing protected or sensitive information as confidential to prevent public access. It was determined that documents that did not contain such information were marked confidential, which was contrary to the Rules. To rectify this issue, the Committee worked with the Rules Committee on new Rule 20-201.1 which addresses restricted information and how it should be handled by the courts. The rule mandates that a Notice of Restricted Information form is filed where the onus is on the filer to let the clerk know that the document contains information that should be shielded from public view. As a result of the new rule and form (effective October 1, 2020), the necessary changes were made to MDEC and the clerk review process. Mediator Remote Access to Cases The committee is working on a new business process to allowmediators remote access to cases in which they are involved. Because mediators are not considered judicial officers, rules changes are necessary to allow them limited scope access. The Rules Committee has proposed a change to Rule 20-109 to include mediators or “court appointed ADR practitioners” within the scope of “parties to” a case. The new business process will create statewide lists of court-appointed ADR practitioners for the both District and circuit courts. Guide & File • Create a go-live campaign to let the public know that this programming is available. • Continue to work on new interviews. Text Messaging Program The expansion of the project will be reevaluated in December to discuss whether and when to establish a go-live date for expansion to the clerks. • Transition enrollment from the commissioner’s PDE system to the text, • Messaging Dashboard. • Expand eligibility to civil case types and party types. • Provide training to clerks’ offices so they can also enroll participants once the Text Messaging Dashboard is available. Training will be 30 days prior to the Text Messaging Dashboard. Baltimore City Go-Live Using the consultant’s analysis, JIS will determine whether Baltimore City requires additional MDEC development before going live. GOALS/INITIATIVES FOR THE UPCOMING YEAR

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