BERRIEN COUNTY COURTS NOT IN A HURRY TO MAKE FILING A CONVENIENT PROCESS

By:  Stan Maddux

The state of Michigan has begun the process of converting the county government courts over to a standardized electronic filing system but don’t expect to be able to file or receive paperwork electronically from Berrien County government anytime soon.

That’s according to Berrien County Trial Court Administrator Carrie Smietanka-Haney, who explained the state is beginning with counties whose programs currently match the state run case management filing system. She said those counties have separate but state matching filing systems for each of their district, circuit and probate courts.

In comparison, Berrien County and a handful of other Michigan counties have their own unified case management filing system, which is different from the state’s system in that it files paperwork for all three local branches of the judicial system combined. The transition would place all courts statewide under a standardized electronic MiFile system.

As a result, Smietanka-Haney expects those counties to be among the last ones to undergo the transition. “I think we’re kind of at the low end of the priority list for the state right now,” she said.

Despite offering electronic filing on a limited basis during the COVID-19 pandemic, Berrien County has reverted to their old methods and still requires all paper filing. Attorneys in Berrien County must continue showing up physically to file paperwork on behalf of their clients or send mail them in for filing. In order for the media to report on court proceedings, members of the media must continue to travel to the county courthouse to manually search through court records such as criminal, civil and family court documents.

Smietanka-Haney said the conversion will be a long process to complete and started with roughly 10 to 20 counties switching over every three to six months.

Smietanka-Haney said she feels there are attorneys who would prefer the convenience of filing their legal documents electronically from their computers, while it probably doesn’t bother other lawyers who have grown accustomed to the current process. Regarding the inconvenience and lack of progress? “I’m sure a lot of people would love to have things 100 percent electronic but other people are just used to it the way it is,” she said.