Beginning Monday, the Hancock County Chancery Clerk’s office will be joining the Mississippi Electronic Courts, which means all documents will now be filed electronically.
“It’s the state of the art way of doing things and bigger counties have plowed new ground,” Hancock County Chancery Clerk Tim Kellar said Friday.
According to a release from the Hancock County Chancery Clerk’s office, the new electronic filing and case management system will allow courts to securely maintain case filings through the Internet. The MEC system replaces the Medir Court Management System.
MEC is administered by the Mississippi Supreme Court, who is also bearing the brunt of the expense for the change, including support and training, Kellar said.
The cost savings will be about $15,000 per year he added. It will also save on manpower and paper and folder costs. However, the changes will not affect any current employees, Kellar said.
MEC will allow judges, attorneys and Chancery Court staff access to electronic docket information in civil cases 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, the release states. Judges will be able to see documents at any location and prepare for hearings without waiting for paper files. Attorneys and their staff can also view and download documents, the release states. Documents will be stored off-site electronically in the event of a hurricane or other disaster, the release states.
“It will be so much more convenient for the judges, the attorneys and our office,” Hancock County chief court clerk Larrinell Scarborough said in the release. “Attorneys can be at home at 10 at night and can file something if they need to.”
Scarborough also added in the release that electronic filings will eliminate the need for copying and mailing large paper records to Jackson, they will now be sent electronically.
Kellar said his office will continue to accept paper files for a period of time, but soon, it will be mandatory to file electronically.
On April 20, MEC will offer training sessions for attorneys and their staff at 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. at the Hancock County Courthouse, located at 152 Main St., Bay St. Louis, Kellar said.
This training is available at no cost to any attorney who is a member of the Mississippi Bar Association, Kellar said. Attorneys who participate in the training will earn three continuing legal education credits at no cost, he added.
The Hancock County Chancery Clerk office is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Contact staff by phone at 228-467-5406.
Pearl River County Chancery Clerk Melinda Bowman said her office switched to electronic filing on February 1. The 10th Chancery Judicial District, which includes Marion, Lamar, Perry, Forrest and Pearl River Counties, was the first in the state of Mississippi to switch over completely to MEC, she said.
Instead of staff opening mail, they will be able to run quality reports each day to find out what’s been filed, Bowman said. The only documents that will be issued in paper form at the Pearl River County office will be new petitions or complaints, summons and judge’s orders, she said. Everything else must be filed electronically.
“As with everything new, there’s a learning curve,” Bowman said. “It’s a different way of managing the system. In the long run, it will be really good once everyone gets accustomed to it.”