Electronic Filing Procedures from the State Court of DeKalb County

From the State Court of DeKalb County, State of Georgia:

We need the help and cooperation of the DeKalb Bar Association in making our court records accurate and understandable.

When you e-file, your labeling of the documents carries over into the docket – electronic filing has in some respects outsourced the creation of the court’s record to the filing parties. The mislabeling of electronically filed pleadings creates inefficiency and inaccuracy related to the court’s record. The standing order presented below is an attempt to address that situation.

An illustration of such a filing would be a motion for summary judgment where the motion is filed as a lead document, and all of the associated filings are titled “motion” so that the brief, statement of undisputed facts and associated affidavits are all labeled as “motion for summary judgment” or “motion” in Odyssey. This circumstance could be avoided if filers use the functionality within EFileGA to separate lead documents by using the “add another filing” feature. Multiple filings related to the same case can be filed within the same envelope. The attachment feature should only be used to attach exhibits, e.g. attachments of affidavits to a motion for summary judgment or brief in support of a motion for summary judgment.

As this court moves to operating in a 21st century, e-court environment, the electronic record and its maintenance are issues of critical importance. The standing order authorizes the clerk to reject mislabeled pleadings. There will be a procedure to correct the refilling date to reflect the original filing date where the filing date is critical.

The state court judges and the clerk of court are amenable to your suggestions regarding any improvement to the process. Please send your comments and concerns to Ms. Melanie F. Wilson, clerk of court at mfwilson@dekalbcountyga.gov. The operation of this order will be reviewed frequently during the 90 days after its effective date.

Standing Order Related to Electronic Filing

IN THE STATE COURT OF DEKALB COUNTY
STATE OF GEORGIA

STANDING ORDER ENTERED FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING FOR THE ACCURATE MAINTENANCE OF THE COURT’S RECORD

This Order is entered in the interests of judicial efficiency. In electronic filing as it currently operates, the title of a pleading, as selected by a filer in EfileGA, transfers from EfileGA into Odyssey, the Court’s case management system. The Court is unable to change the docket entry created by such filing. The electronic images of the pleadings are difficult to find on the electronic docket where a pleading is mislabeled in Odyssey.

In light of the foregoing, this Court has instructed the Clerk of the State Court of DeKalb County to reject any filing that is incorrectly labeled so as to create an inaccurate record of entry on the court’s docket, and to require such filing to be re-submitted. The Clerk is further directed to ensure that filers have the ability to re-submit a filing and secure the same file date as would have been applied if the previously rejected filing had been accepted. If filings are time sensitive and the file date is significant to the filing, then filers shall contact the Clerk’s office at 404-371-2261.

SO ORDERED, This 28 day of February, 2017