SC Lawyer, March 2005, #1. Bar News - March 2005.

South Carolina Lawyer

2005.

SC Lawyer, March 2005, #1.

Bar News - March 2005

South Carolina LawyerMarch 2005Bar News - March 2005U.S. District Court goes electronic

In February 2005, the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina unveiled a new case management and electronic case filing system. This new system, known as Case Management/Electronic Case Filing (CM/ECF), was developed by the federal judiciary to replace outdated case management systems in more than 200 federal courts nationwide. CM/ECF will provide the courts with updated and enhanced case management tools, the capability to store court documents in electronic format and the ability to accept electronic filings.

Attorneys practicing in South Carolina's federal court can now file documents directly with the courts over the Internet. The CM/ECF system uses standard computer hardware, an Internet connection and a browser and accepts documents in Portable Document Format (PDF).

No added fees are charged for filing documents over the Internet using CM/ECF. However, existing document filing fees still apply. When filing electronically, all ECF fees must be paid by credit card. Electronic access to court data is provided through the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) program at a cost of $.08 per page. Litigants receive one free look at documents filed electronically in their cases and can print or download the documents at that time. Additional copies are available for viewing or downloading at $ .08 per page. Users are not billed, however, until their PACER account reaches $10 in a calendar year. The judiciary has set the fee at the lowest possible level sufficient to recoup program costs as directed by Congress to fund electronic access through user fees. For more information about PACER, go to http://pacer.psc.us- courts.gov/.

Potential users who wish to familiarize themselves with the CM/ECF system are also invited to visit the court's Web site at www.scd.us- courts.gov. The Web site offers online tutorials and provides information about opportunities for hands-on training. This training qualifies for two hours of CLE credit.

On September 1, 2005, six months after the start date of electronic filing, all filings must be done using the electronic filing system unless an attorney is excused from doing so by the court upon a showing of good cause.

For more information on CM/ECF in the district court, visit the court's Web site at www.scd.uscourts.gov or contact the project manager at (803) 253-3527.

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