The Florida Courts ePortal eFiling Overview

ePortal Governance The Florida Courts ePortal is housed within a public entity called the “Florida Courts E-Filing Authority” The E-Filing Authority is a Chapter 163 Public Entity established by Interlocal Agreement The Florida E-Filing Authority contracts with the FCCC for the development, implementation, operation and maintenance of the ePortal Access the E-Filing Authority Homepage www.myflcourtaccess.com E-FILING AUTHORITY BOARD OF DIRECTORS Hon. Tim Smith, Putnam County Clerk and Comptroller - Chair Hon. Joseph E. Smith, St. Lucie County Clerk and Comptroller, Vice Chair - District V Hon. Tara Green, Clay County Clerk and Comptroller, Secretary/Treasurer - District III Hon. Thomas D. Hall, Clerk of the Supreme Court Hon. Bob Inzer, Leon County Clerk and Comptroller - District II Hon. Alex Alford, Walton County Clerk and Comptroller, - District I Hon. Don Barbee, Hernando County Clerk and Comptroller - District IV Hon. Karen Rushing, Sarasota County Clerk and Comptroller - District VI Hon. Sharon Bock, Palm Beach County Clerk and Comptroller - District VII eFiling Overview

How We Got Here Development of the ePortal began in 2010 Civil eFiling capability was established in January 2011 Criminal eFiling capability has been established and will be implemented in a phased approach throughout 2013 Appellate eFiling capability has been established in 2013 and phased in, beginning with the Supreme Court in February More than 3,500,000 case filings have been electronically filed through the ePortal in the first 7 months of 2013 eFiling Overview

What is the ePortal? www.myflcourtaccess.com eFiling and eRecording capability Single statewide login for all users Single web access used to submit court documents Transmits to local Clerk case maintenance and recording systems Provides electronic notifications to the filer and to the Clerks’ offices Part of the Statewide Integrated Court System eFiling Overview

Statewide Integrated Court System Filers SA/PD Existing Systems STAC/Other Systems New Cases Existing Cases ECF XML Web Statewide ePortal ECF XML Replaces 3 Delivery Methods In Person Mail E Documents 67 Clerks of Court Case Initiation, Indexing, Docketing Official Court Record/Document Prep Fee Collection and Accounting Local Clerk CMS Local/Statewide Integration Judicial Law Enforcement State Attorney/Public Defender Statewide Access/Standards Case Management Reporting Statewide Reporting Integration with Partners

ePortal Usage Overview Create case documents on your computer as normal Login to the ePortal website Complete the required information and attach your document(s) Pay, if required, and submit the filing Receive automated filing confirmation from the Clerk’s office Access to all of your electronic filings on the ePortal or at the Clerk’s website eFiling Overview

Document Types Supported The ePortal supports document uploads MS Word, WordPerfect, and PDF formats The ePortal delivers documents to the Clerk’s local Case Maintenance System in PDF format The ePortal can also convert documents to TIFF format if the local Document Management System cannot eFiling Overview

Timestamps As defined in Standards for Electronic Access to the Courts (AO 09-30) An electronic filing may be submitted to the portal at any time of the day or night, twenty four (24) hours a day seven days a week; the portal shall place a time/date stamp. However, the filing will not be official information of record until it has been stored on the clerk’s case maintenance system. All dates and times, including when the filing is received at the ePortal and when the filing is accepted by the clerk, are stored in the ePortal database to ensure the accuracy and consistency of when the event took place. eFiling Overview

Fees Authorized filers may access the ePortal and file existing case filings at no charge. If a filing requires statutory filing fees, the filer may pay using a credit card or ACH transaction and will be charged a transaction fee which will be used to cover the associated banking and merchant fees as allowed by Florida Statutes. The Florida Courts E-Filing Authority has set the following transaction fees: Credit Cards = 3% of Filing Fee ACH = $3 flat rate eFiling Overview

Notifications Receipt of subscriber registration Activation of subscriber account Changes to subscriber profile including login credentials Receipt of a filing by the ePortal including: Filing ID (reference) number Court filed in (county and division) Case Number (if existing case) Date / Time Acceptance of a filing by the Clerk’s system (including case number if a new case) Notification and explanation for correcting a filing eFiling Overview

Sample Notification Email eFiling Overview

Access to Filings & Case Information The ePortal provides access to filings via the My Trial Court Filings/My Appellate Court Filings page Once the filing is accepted into the Clerk’s local Case Maintenance System, this becomes the official court record just like the former paper process Permanent access to these documents and complete case information will continue to be provided through existing methods such as local Clerk web sites and CCIS links eFiling Overview

User Account Administration Filers can register online and manage their own accounts Law Firms or Agencies can be setup with an administrator to manage all of the organization’s users Clerk’s offices can manage accounts eFiling Overview

Electronic Signatures As defined in Standards for Electronic Access to the Courts (AO 09-30) A pleading or other document is not required to bear the electronic image of the handwritten signature or an encrypted signature of the filer, but may be signed in the following manner when electronically filed through a registered user’s login and password. s/ John Doe John Doe (e-mail address) Bar Number 12345 Attorney for (Plaintiff/Defendant) XYZ Company ABC Law Firm 123 South Street Orlando, FL 32800 Telephone: (407) 123-4567 eFiling Overview

Confidential Information Compliance with Rule 2.420 for documents containing confidential information ePortal Documents Screen ePortal Review & Submit Screen eFiling Overview

Document Submission Standards Documents should be a standard size of 8 ½ x 11 inches (as defined in RJA 2.520) Documents should leave blank a 3 x 3 inch space at the top right-hand corner on the first page, and a 1 x 3 inch space at the top right-hand corner on each subsequent page, to accommodate statewide standard date/time stamps (as defined in RJA 2.520) Where possible, documents should be electronically signed Black and white, non-color documents are preferred Scanned documents should be at a resolution of 300 DPI (as defined in the State of Florida Electronic Records and Records Management Practices) Multiple pleadings, motions, etc. should not be combined into one single file; each individual document should be uploaded via the ePortal document submission process A deviation from these guidelines may result in the submitted filing being moved to a Pending Queue with the filer being notified via email and requested to correct the issue(s) with the document(s) and resubmit the filing eFiling Overview

Document Submission Standards (cont.) Electronic submission of documents outside the ePortal For documents that exceed the 25 MB size limit or whose dimensions exceed the 8 ½ x 11 inch standard, electronic transmission should be accomplished using an electronic storage medium that the Clerk has the ability to accept, which may include a CD-ROM, flash drive, or similar storage medium as defined in SC11-399   Original Documents Documents that must be maintained in original form may be electronically filed through the ePortal but must also be deposited with the Clerk and maintained for safekeeping as defined in SC11-399. Examples include wills, codicils, deeds, verified and sworn documents, original paper judgments and sentences, etc. Questions regarding original documents should be directed to your local Clerk’s Office. eFiling Overview

Correcting Filings As specified in Standards for Electronic Access to the Courts (AO 09-30) Any filing that contains incorrect information will be moved to a Pending Queue by the Clerk’s office The filer will be automatically notified of the corrections that need to be made and the filing will show in a Pending Queue status The filer has 5 business days from the time the filing is moved to the Pending Queue to correct and resubmit the filing If the filer does not submit a corrected filing, the Clerk’s office will File it for Judicial Review and the filer will be automatically notified; at this point, no further actions may be taken on this filing Attorneys may not “withdraw” filings; once submitted, a filing must go through the Pending Queue process and be corrected and resubmitted eFiling Overview

Current eFiling Status 65 counties support eFiling in the Civil divisions Clay and Sarasota will be live by 10/1/13 (AO SC13-12) 13 counties currently accepting eFilings on existing Criminal cases All counties are actively testing for a go-live of 10/1/13 Appellate eFiling began with the Supreme Court in February The 2nd District Courts of Appeal went live in August 2013. Other DCA’s will be phased in. eFiling Overview

Court Ordered Mandatory Dates E-Mail Service by Attorneys September 1, 2012 Mandatory Civil eFiling April 1, 2013 Mandatory Criminal eFiling October 1, 2013 Mandatory Appellate eFiling Supreme Court: February 27, 2013 District Courts of Appeal: Phased in from July 2013 to July 2014 Electronic Transmission of Records on Appeal (Clerk’s office to Appellate Court) July 1, 2014 eFiling Overview

ePortal Support ePortal User Documentation eFiler Manual (Filer Documentation link in footer of the ePortal) Reviewer Manual (Reviewer Documentation link in footer of the ePortal) County Administrator Manual (available on the Clerk Intranet) Law Firm Administrator Manual (available on the Clerk Intranet) Support for Attorneys & Paralegals support@myflcourtaccess.com 850-577-4609 Support for Clerk’s Offices support@flclerks.com 850-414-2210 eFiling Overview

Florida Courts E-Filing Authority Board August E-Filing Update

E-Filing Portal Usage Statistics July Activity

July Portal Usage Statistics Submitted Category Total Filings 851,751 Documents 1,432,126 Total Registered E-Filing Portal Users as of 7/31/2013 49324

July E-Filings By Day Weekday average 37605 filings Tuesdays highest

Weekday E-Filings - Average Per Hour The 4:00pm hour is the greatest volume with average 5350 filings per hour The 5:00am hour is the least volume with average 12 filings per hour Not an hour of the day the portal is not receiving filings Consistently 6% new case filings Portal Up time

Criminal E-Filing July Progress Report

Criminal E-Filing Status 53 Counties Criminal Divisions are Enabled in the Test Region Single Session Verification is In Process Limited CBI Integration Testing is Occurring 13 Counties Accept single session criminal filings in the production region

What’s Next Criminal E-Filing Mandatory Date to E-File is October 1, 2013 Standardized Docket Codes enable SA and PD to automate their E-Filing Each county must prepare now to enable SA and PD to complete automation Map local docket codes to Standardized Criminal Docket Descriptions (SCDD) Supreme Court AO 13-12 7/10/2013

County Readiness by Circuit SCDD Received Divisions Enabled in Test Circuit Divisions Enabled in Prod Escambia COMPLETE TBD 1st Okaloosa 10/1/2013 Santa Rosa Walton Franklin 2nd Gadsden Jefferson Leon Liberty Wakulla

County Readiness by Circuit SCDD Received Divisions Enabled in Test Circuit Divisions Enabled in Prod Columbia COMPLETE 3rd 7/25/2013 Dixie TBD 10/1/2013 Hamilton Lafayette New CMS 8/2013 Madison New CMS 7/2013 Suwannee 8/19/2013 Taylor Clay 4th Duval Nassau RETURNED

County Readiness by Circuit SCDD Received Divisions Enabled in Test Circuit Divisions Enabled in Prod Citrus COMPLETE 5th 10/1/2013 Hernando 9/1/2013 Lake Marion Sumter TBD Pasco 6th Pinellas Flagler 7th Putnam St. Johns

County Readiness by Circuit SCDD Received Divisions Enabled in Test Circuit Divisions Enabled in Prod Volusia COMPLETE 7th 9/15/2013 Alachua 8th 8/15/2013 Baker 10/1/2013 Bradford Gilchrist TBD Levy Union Orange 9th 9/10/2013 Osceloa WAIVER REQUEST

County Readiness by Circuit SCDD Received Divisions Enabled in Test Circuit Divisions Enabled in Prod Hardee COMPLETE TBD 10th 8/30/2013 Highlands 9/2013 Polk 10/1/2013 Miami-Dade *COMPLETE 11th Desoto 12th ASAP Manatee N/A Sarasota COMPLETED 9/20/2013 Hillsborough DEFER 13th Bay 14th Calhoun New CMS 8/2013

County Readiness by Circuit SCDD Received Divisions Enabled in Test Circuit Divisions Enabled in Prod Gulf COMPLETE 14th 10/1/2013 Holmes Jackson Washington New CMS 9/2013 TBD Palm Beach 15th Monroe 16th Broward 17th Brevard 18th Seminole

County Readiness by Circuit SCDD Received Divisions Enabled in Test Circuit Divisions Enabled in Prod Indian River COMPLETE 19th 10/1/2013 Martin Okeechobee TBD St. Lucie Charlotte 20th Collier 8/12/2013 Glades New CMS 9/2013 Hendry Lee

Criminal Batch Interface Update CBI Progress Report To Date

CBI State Attorney Report Office CMS Development Initiated Development Complete Testing Status Verification with Clerk SAO1 STAC COMPLETE IN PROCESS SAO2 TBD SAO3 SAO4 SAO5 IN HOUSE SAO6 TYLER SAO7 SAO8 SAO9 9/1/2013 SAO10

CBI State Attorney Report Office CMS Type Development Initiated Development Complete Testing Status Verification with Clerk SAO11 IN HOUSE COMPLETE IN PROCESS SAO12 STAC TBD SAO13 DEFER SAO14 SAO15 SAO16 SAO17 SAO18 SAO19 SAO20

CBI Public Defender Report Office CMS Type Development Initiated Development Complete Testing Complete Verification with Clerk PD1 STAC COMPLETE IN PROCESS TBD PD2 IN-HOUSE PD3 PD4 PD5 PD6 TYLER PD7 PD8 PD9 PD10

CBI Public Defender Report Office CMS Type Development Initiated Development Complete Testing Complete Verification with Clerk PD11 IN-HOUSE TBD PD12 STAC COMPLETE IN PROCESS PD13 PD14 PD15 PD16 PD17 PD18 PD19 PD20

Appellate Readiness Report Progress Report To Date

Appellate Readiness Report Appellate Courts Court Optional E-Filing Mandatory E-Filing Scanning Automated Redaction Florida Supreme Court COMPLETE Yes No First District Court of Appeal TBD Second District Court of Appeal August 2013 October 2013 Third District Court of Appeal June 2013 Fourth District Court of Appeal August 2013 Fifth District Court of Appeal

E-Filing Portal Projects in Progress Progress Report To Date

Implementation in Progress 2013 Projects In Progress Projects in Progress Project Status Release 2013.01 Complete eService Testing 2nd DCA, Map, Authority Website Deployment 8/16 Criminal Batch Filing/Criminal E-Filing Implementation in Progress Release 2013.02 Analysis

Questions / Comments / Suggestions Closing Questions / Comments / Suggestions eFiling Overview