E-Filing a Win-Win for San Diego’s Budget Woes

Starting October 1, 2013 the Superior Court inSan Diego is asking attorneys to E- file probate documents. Documents may befiled electronically if 1. the case is initiated on or after October 1; or thecase is already pending as of September 30 and has been imaged by the court.Permitting the E-filing is one of the ways that the San Diego Superior Court ishandling the budget cuts. Over the past five years, the budget cuts haveeliminated more than 170 court positions and shut down a few courtrooms.

 Probate Judge Julia Kelety explained, “OurProbate Court is very pleased to offer electronic filing for court documents.It’s a win-win situation for the court and our customers, because it allows thecourt to handle the paperwork more efficiently, while at the same time thepeople who use our court will benefit from the convenience of filing documentsremotely. This is particularly critical since budget cuts forced the closure ofthe North County probate court.” 

See Karen Dalton San Diego Superior Court Begins E-Filing in Probate, News Release, Sep. 19, 2013.

Special thanks to Adam J. Hirsch (Professor of Law, San Diego School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.