Tag: E-Filing

W.Va. Magistrate Court Fines, Fees Can Now Be Paid Online

Payments can be made through a portal developed by the state Supreme Court's administrative office and West Virginia Interactive. Individuals can enter their case number and pay the amount owed with a credit or debit card without having to physically visit a court office, the Supreme Court said in a news release.

Fines, fees and costs accrued in West Virginia magistrate courts can now be paid online.

Payments can be made through a portal developed by the state Supreme Court’s administrative office and West Virginia Interactive. Individuals can enter their case number and pay the amount owed with a credit or debit card without having to physically visit a court office, the Supreme Court said in a news release.

There is a $2 fee for each transaction, which covers the cost of creating and operating the payment system.

“The online payment system will make it easier for West Virginians to pay their fines and court costs,” Chief Justice John Hutchison said. “Magistrate court funds many important things, including community corrections, law enforcement training, court security, courthouse improvements, and the per diem regional jail fee.”

E-Filing Expands to Monroe County

E-filing is expanded again, now to its third county in the state.

West Virginia Judiciary’s Unified Electronic Filing System, or e-filing for short, started in Marion County in August 2013, and then in April of this year, it expanded for the first time to Jefferson County. On Tuesday, it expanded again to Monroe County.

E-filing allows circuit courts to have electronic backups of both confidential and public cases.

Only a handful of other states have currently gone fully to e-filing, and the goal is to make West Virginia one of those additional states.

Once the system is statewide, it would be paid for by the user. The Supreme Court is paying for the upgrade in technology in all circuit clerks’ offices. Public documents will eventually be accessible from any computer anywhere.

E-Filing Expands to the Eastern Panhandle

The West Virginia Judiciary’s Unified Electronic Filing System has expanded to the Eastern Panhandle.

Justice Brent Benjamin announced the expansion of E-filing to the Eastern Panhandle at the Circuit Courtroom in the Jefferson County Courthouse Monday.

Jefferson County is now the second county in the state to allow E-filing opportunities, following Marion County, which filed its first electronic document in August 2013.

E-filing allows circuit courts to have electronic backups of both confidential and public cases. It also saves time and money for the lawyer since he or she would no longer have to travel to the courthouse in person to file documents to the circuit clerk.

A committee is currently studying the cost of statewide expansion for E-filing and what a reasonable filing fee and user fee should be. This statewide system will be paid for by the user, not by taxpayers, and the Supreme Court is paying for the upgrade in technology for all circuit clerk offices. Public documents will eventually be accessible from any computer anywhere.

Once expanded to the entire state, those who want to file a case in a circuit court will be able to file documents electronically themselves.

Marion County Civil & Domestic Court Cases Fully Digital

Anyone filing a civil or domestic court cases in Marion County will have to do so electronically.

The Circuit Clerk’s Office implemented full e-filing of these cases on Dec. 1. The initiative is part of the West Virginia Supreme Court’s pilot electronic filing project.

Marion County kicked off the project in December 2013 when a lawsuit was filed electronically. More than a dozen other counties are expected to begin e-filing cases in 2015.

Online Information Services provides the filing service. A consultant of the company, Barbara Core, tells The Times West Virginian that attorneys can file documents and forms from any location electronically.

Core says judges can view motions and grant or deny them without leaving their offices.

State's Court E-Filing System Being Put to Test Tuesday

A Fairmont attorney is days away from making judicial history in West Virginia.

 
     Attorney J. Scott Tharp will file a civil suit on line Tuesday in Marion County Circuit Court, testing West Virginia’s new e-filing system.
 
     The court’s clerk, Rhonda Starn, told The State Journal the e-filing system will save counties thousands of dollars and won’t cost a single job.
 
     The West Virginia Supreme Court is picking up the tab for the statewide technology upgrade.
 
     Matt Arrowood is director of the court’s division overseeing circuit clerk services. He said the Marion County e-filing system will work out any bugs before it’s rolled out statewide.
 

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