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August 29, 2008

Notice to Attorneys Who Practice in Municipal Court

NOTICE TO ATTORNEYS WHO PRACTICE IN MUNICIPAL COURT

The Judges of the Franklin County Municipal Court hereby give notice of the following proposed amendments to Local Court Rule 9.16(B) which will authorize the use of electronic signatures in electronic documents filed with the Court.

Rule 9.16

(B). Electronic Filing. Pleadings and other papers may be filed by an attorney or a party with the clerk electronically via the Internet. This Rule, supplemented by the Franklin County Municipal Court Electronic Filing Policies and Procedures Manual (hereinafter the E-filing Manual) as amended from time to time by agreement of the clerk and the court, shall govern use of the electronic filing system in the court. Technical terms used in this Rule have the meaning set forth in the E-filing Manual.

1. Electronic filing defined. Electronic filing is a process of electronically submitting pleadings and other papers (hereinafter documents) to the clerk utilizing computer software via the Internet. The list of documents which may be filed electronically is identified in the E-filing Manual.

2. Consequences of Electronic Filing. The party utilizing the Franklin County Municipal Court electronic case filing system bears the risk of any delay, disruption, interruption of electronic signals, and readability of the filings.

3. Registration. Electronic filers shall execute a Registration Form with the
clerk of court. Upon completion receipt of the Registration Form, the clerk shall assign a unique, secure user name and password.

4. Accepted Documents; Confirmation Notice; Date and Time; Notice of Filing
(i) (a). Accepted Documents. Documents transmitted via the Internet electronically to the clerk shall be accepted as the original document, provided the person sending the document complies with all the requirements set forth in this Rule. Documents transmitted electronically via the Internet filed electronically shall conform substantially to the requirements of the Ohio Rules of Practice and Procedure, these local rules and to the format for the electronic filing system set out set forth in the current E-filing Manual.

(ii) (b). Confirmation Notice. Each document transmitted via the Internet to the clerk shall be assigned a confirmation number by the clerk, which shall be displayed on the computer screen of the person sending the document upon successful transmission.

(iii) (c). Date and Time. A document submitted electronically via the Internet shall be considered filed with the clerk at the date and local time in Columbus, Ohio captured in the computer equipment of the clerk. Electronic documents may be submitted at any time. 

(iv) (d). Notice of Filing. Once the document has been processed and accepted by the clerk, no later than the next business day the clerk shall send a notice of filing that confirms the date and time the document was filed. Parties using the electronic filing process shall be notified if the document has not been accepted pursuant to section (B)(5) of this Rule.

5. Notice of Non-Acceptance. If a party receives notification that the document has not been accepted for filing in accordance with this Rule, the party may re-transmit the document or seek other appropriate relief from the court.

6. Fees. The fees set forth in Schedule 9.00 of Loc. R. Rule 13 shall be collected when each document is processed. Upon the submission of each document, the filing party shall submit a valid credit or debit card number, and the clerk shall charge the filing party's credit or debit account the appropriate amount for the document. Any document filed electronically may be rejected by the clerk unless the filer has complied with the procedures established by the court for the payment of filing fees.

7. Signatures. Electronic filings shall contain a digital signature as outlined in the E-filing Manual or a /s/ notation followed by the name of the person signing the document. Utilization by the filing party of (i) a secure user name and password and (ii) a digital signature or a /s/ notation when electronically transmitting documents shall constitute a signature pursuant to Civ. R. 5(E)(1) and Civ. R. 11 only when such documents are properly authorized by the party to whom the user name and password were assigned.

a. An electronic signature is an electronic sound, symbol, or process attached to or logically associated with an electronic record, and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the electronic record.
b. The documents that may be filed electronically with the clerk using an electronic signature are outlined in the E-filing Manual.
c. The format for an electronic signature employed in an electronic record filed with the clerk shall meet the signing requirements of any rule governing practice or procedure in the courts of Ohio promulgated by the Ohio Supreme Court, including the rules for procedure in traffic cases.
d. The process to ensure the authentication of an electronic signature used in an electronic record filed with the clerk shall, at a minimum, be of one of the following types:
Type 1: This process uses a signature pad or other similar device to associate with an electronic record a digital representation of a physical signature of the person signing the record. To authenticate the electronic signature on the electronic record, the signature shall be created in the presence of a deputy clerk other than the signer. Either the signer or the witness shall immediately submit the record to the electronic filing or case management system.
Type 2: This process is used to authenticate an electronic signature on an electronic record by the sender logging-in to an application recognized by the court (i.e., a case management system, or an e-filing system/portal) which will receive the electronic record. The electronic record may be created from within the court’s case management system (court user) or from an application outside of the court (non-court user). The login will involve a user name and password which are unique to the sender. The court, or a vendor under a contract with the court, will maintain a secure register of the user name and password for each authorized user. The user name and/or password may either be created by the user or assigned to the user by the administrator of the court application. The court will utilize secure password procedures.
Type 3: This process is used to authenticate an electronic signature on an electronic record by a two-step process. First, the sender must log in to the application as described above for the Type 2 process, plus the sender must additionally verify the transaction by either entry of a separate unique personal identifier (e.g., a personal identification number (“PIN”))or the use of a physical identification device (e.g., smart card, biometric reader, etc.).
Type 4: This process is used by the clerk to authenticate the electronic signature of the clerk in an e-mail which certifies that an electronic record attached to the e-mail is a true copy of a document on file with the clerk. Prior to transmitting the e-mail, the clerk must obtain a digital certificate from a certificate authority and must associate the digital certificate with the e-mail to authenticate the clerk’s electronic signature. For this process, the digital certificate must use either public key infrastructure or a certificate system providing an equal or greater level of security.
Type 5: This process is used to authenticate electronic signatures on electronic records by complying with specific secure data transfer protocols negotiated by the clerk with a trusted authority, such as a financial institution, large employer, or government agency.
e. Minimum Authentication Requirements. At a minimum, the following types of authentication shall be required for the different categories of electronic signatures in electronic records exchanged in electronic transactions involving the clerk:
1. Electronic Records filed with the clerk from outside of the court: 
a. Attorneys and other litigants -Type 2
b. Judges and magistrates -Type 3
c. Trusted authorities - Type 5
2. Electronic Records filed with the clerk from inside of the court:
a. Attorneys and litigants physically present at the court - Type1 or 2
b. Judges and magistrates - Type 1 or 3
c. Other court personnel - Type 1 or 2
3. Electronic Records filed with the clerk and distributed, or made available, to persons/entities outside of the court:
a. Certified copies of court filings - Type 4
b. Notices to attorneys or litigants - Type 2
c. Publicly-available copies (not certified) of court filings - no authentication
d. Transmission to a trusted authority, Type 5
f. An electronic signature must be attached to or logically associated with the electronic record, and must be linked to the data in such a manner that any subsequent alteration to the electronic signature is detectable and will invalidate the electronic record.
g. Any electronic signature in an electronic document filed with the clerk in accordance with this rule shall be presumed to be authentic. If it is established upon motion by the signer or the signer’s personal representative that an electronic record was transmitted without authority or modified from what the signer adopted, the court may order the filing stricken.
h. The electronic record in the court’s case management system shall reflect that an electronic signature is associated with the electronic record. Any electronic or paper output from the court’s case management or electronic filing system shall indicate that the record was signed electronically and identify by name the person who electronically signed the electronic record.

8. Disposition and Maintenance of Filings. A party filing electronically shall not file a physical copy of the document with the clerk, but must maintain the document in the party=s records, and have available a physical copy for production on request by the court, the clerk, counsel, or any party. The filing party must maintain the document until the final disposition of the case and through the completion of the appeal process.

** Key to proposed amendments:

1. Original language of the rule appears as regular type.
2. Language to be deleted appears thus.
3. Language to be added appears thus.

All comments regarding these amendments must be submitted to Magistrate Kathleen E. Graham at the Franklin County Municipal Court, 375 South High Street, 10th Floor, Columbus, Ohio 43215 or through email at grahamk@fcmcclerk.com by the close of business on Tuesday, September 16, 2008.