By 2025, residents across Western North Carolina will be able to access court information and file legal documents online.
The “eCourts” system, already in use in many parts of the state, will be expanded to all 100 counties by October 2025, the NC Administrative Office of the Courts announced this week. This includes new online access for district and superior courts in Avery, Madison, Mitchell, Yancey and Watauga by July 2025 and Burke, McDowell and Rutherford by October 2025.
The system went live for Buncombe County on July 22.
The NC Business Court, a specialized part of the Superior Court Division that handles complex and significant civil cases in corporate and commercial matters, will also move to eCourts in 2025, according to NC Judicial Branch spokesman Graham Wilson, but a date has not yet been set.
“Millions more North Carolinians will benefit from the convenience of digital access to their courthouse in 2025 as momentum builds toward completing the judiciary’s historic eCourts transition statewide,” said Ryan Boyce, director of the Administrative Office of the Courts, in a July 5 announcement.
The system currently serves about half of North Carolina’s population in its three largest cities and 38 coastal, foothill and mountain counties. Officials responsible for the switch say the millions of electronic filings and online record searches have dramatically reduced paperwork in the court system and allowed citizens to access the system 24 hours a day, seven days a week, even outside of normal court hours.
According to Boyce, concrete advantages of eCourts are:
- The public will be able to access and file justice system files online 24 hours a day, instead of only during courthouse business hours.
- Reducing travel time through shared digital access to recordings and remote hearings.
- Integration with public safety systems enables court officials and law enforcement agencies to more easily access critical information through connected applications.
- Assist users in preparing and filing the most common legal procedures through the automated interview service “Guide & File”.
- Replacing printed forms and records with electronic workflows saves millions of sheets of paper and valuable courthouse space.
- Standardizing court business processes to promote uniformity across the country.
- We introduce court kiosks that provide printing, scanning and payment services as well as direct access to eCourts applications.
But the rollout has not been without problems, and in some cases has violated citizens’ constitutional rights, critics and a federal lawsuit allege. Plaintiffs from Mecklenburg and other counties say they were arrested on dropped charges or held in jail after their release.
In the case’s most recent filing in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, Mecklenburg County Sheriff Gary McFadden argued on June 7 that the case against him should be dismissed because the system failed to issue him with parole orders.
Joel Burgess has lived in WNC for more than 20 years and covers politics, government and other news. He has written award-winning stories on topics ranging from gerrymandering to police use of force. Have a tip? Contact Burgess at [email protected], 828-713-1095 or on Twitter @AVLreporter. Please support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
