Vol. 11, No. 5 June 2015
Civil exhibits and appeals move
down the street
Trial exhibits for all adult case types are now available from one
location. Non-criminal case exhibits and staff moved from the Customer Service
Center to the fourth floor of the South Court Tower, located at 175 W. Madison
Street in downtown Phoenix. The Clerk’s Appeals staff also moved to the South
Court Tower. Exhibits in Juvenile cases remain at the location where the case
is assigned: either at the Durango Street facility in Phoenix or at the
Southeast Juvenile facility in Mesa.
For the most efficient way to locate exhibits, schedule an appointment to
access them, or to ask questions about appeals, call the Clerk’s main number at
602-372-5375 (602-37CLERK) and select “exhibits” or “appeals” from the options.
For a list of Clerk locations and services, visit http://www.clerkofcourt.maricopa.gov/clerk_loc.asp.
What’s with the ECR, Mac?
Our friends who use Apple products and web browsers that aren’t Microsoft
Explorer sometimes ask if the Clerk’s office is planning to upgrade the
Electronic Court Record Online (ECR Online) to work better with these
platforms. As the legal community is fond of saying, it depends.
On 1/1/2007, the Clerk’s images were designated as the official court
record of the Superior Court in Maricopa County. Later that year, when more
paper documents were scanned and could be available electronically, the Clerk’s
office began testing the ECR Online, which became widely available in February
of 2008. In those days, Explorer was the most widely used web browser and most
people used PCs over Macs.
Now, more than seven years later, Mac and mobile use has steadily
increased, as have the number and type of browsers. Unfortunately, that same
time period saw an economic recession and budget cuts. The Arizona Judicial
Branch has been pushing for a statewide portal to file and view electronic
records for all courts. The promise of a single portal, combined with reduced
staff and funds in this office, has limited the Clerk’s internal enhancements
to the ECR Online. The Clerk’s office is hopeful that statewide improvements
and initiatives are on the horizon. In-house changes could take place if the
Clerk’s office receives funding or if implementation of a statewide portal
falls victim to higher statewide priorities.
The ECR Online can work with other systems and browsers, but the Clerk’s
office only has the resources to support and troubleshoot access through the
Explorer browser. The ECR Online was developed in-house by the Clerk’s office
as a free service for parties, their attorneys, and others who are allowed to
remotely access public court records as regulated by court rules. There are
more than 10,000 attorneys and more than 24,000 litigants registered in the ECR
Online.
|