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The Clark County Common Pleas Clerk of Court office manages felony criminal case files and civil suits of more than $15,000, Tuttle said. The office plays an important role in making sure the dealings in the county courts are transparent, she said.
The new system will provide more up to date records for attorneys, judges and the public, she said.
“It will streamline the process,” she said. “When we do accept that paper, we can scan it and be in our digital system and ready for the judge to pull it up instantly.
The public will also be able to log onto the website and view case filings as they come into the office, Tuttle said. However, images of the case filings will not be immediately available, she said. The office will need to find a way to redact images properly before automatically sending court documents, which are public records, to the internet, she said.
“We can say there are no documents waiting,” Tuttle said.
The cost of the project is about $207,000, Tuttle said, and all of it is being paid for by a grant from the Ohio Supreme Court.
The public is always welcomed to come in and view the public records, Tuttle said.
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Closing the office was unavoidable, Tuttle said, but in the long run will be worth it.
“They needed three business days plus the weekend to do the conversion,” Tuttle said.
Along with providing access to the public, the new system will also help the clerk’s employees focus their time on serving the public, said Jeffrey Harmon, the general manager for Equivalent, the owner of the CourtView system.
“We know our customers spend valuable time and resources fulfilling requests from the public for access to Court records,” he said. “Clark County’s new solution will free up staff with tailored modules, preferences, parameters, codes and security to support their unique needs.”
Tuttle said her employees are also excited for the change.
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“The biggest thing is how excited our employees are,” Tuttle said. “We are trying to help the employees do their jobs. They want to be efficient and not have piles of paper hanging around.”
The Clark County Common Pleas Court also is head of the title offices in Clark County. Both title offices in Springfield and New Carlisle will be open during regular business hours, Tuttle said, and for time-sensitive cases filings, the Springfield title office will be available.
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