Electronic Record in the First DCA

Furthering its mission to become the first District Court of Appeal to have all electronic filing, the First District announced by administrative order that “lower courts, lower tribunals, and state agencies” within its purview will soon be required to upload the record on appeal electronically. Administrative Order 10-4 [.pdf] provides the clerks of court with detailed instructions for providing the First DCA with a certified copy of the notice of appeal using the eDCA portal, filing the order on appeal as a separate document, and also filing a separate “Notice of Appeal Transmittal Form,” electronically. ¶¶ 1, 1(e) and 1(f). For the time being, the filing fee will still be transmitted the old fashioned way. ¶ 1(b). The clerks are encouraged to start now, and required to fully implement the electronic filing of the notice of appeal and accompanying documents by October 1, 2010.

The Courts of Appeal were given the authority to dispense with paper filing back in June.

The record, too, will be required to be transmitted electronically starting October 1, 2010. Recognizing the bulk of the record, the transfer is done via ftp rather than upload to the eDCA system. ¶ 2. The clerks can obtain a waiver on a case-by-case basis if it is impossible to transmit the record electronically.

Court reporters also need to take heed of this order. They, too, must register with eDCA if they are going to ask for or file any pleadings with the Court. So if a court report wants an extension to prepare a transcript, she or he needs to file a motion using the eDCA portal. ¶ 3.