In March 2023, the Office of the State Courts Administrator (OSCA) rolled out its Appellate Case Information System (ACIS), bringing on the Florida Supreme Court and the First District Court of Appeal as its first users. Since then, two other district courts have migrated to the system, with three more expecting to switch over in the spring.
OSCA's Office of Information Technology (OIT) worked with the appellate clerks and Thomson Reuters Court Management Solutions to coordinate the development and rollout of ACIS to replace older e-filing systems known as eFACTS and eDCA.
OSCA Chief Information Officer Roosevelt Sawyer Jr., said in Full Court Press that the OIT team worked with the appellate clerks and Thomson Reuters on data migration, project management, organizational change and reporting needs to implement the new ACIS solution.
Once the system was up and running, the Florida Supreme Court and the First District Court of Appeal migrated to ACIS in March 2023, followed by the Third and Fourth District Courts of Appeal in September 2023.
“With feedback from the public after the initial rollout, the clerks and the project team streamlined the registration process to be much more efficient,” Sawyer said in the article.
However, the system is still being worked on and improved.
“When ACIS is fully implemented, appellate case information will be available in one location in Florida, which will be an enriched experience from the district court-specific locations,” Sawyer said.
So far, attorneys, judges, lower tribunal clerks and self-represented litigants have been able to register for and use ACIS to view documents associated with appellate cases. Also available through the system is the ability to search for case dockets or other public information without registering for an account.
Moving forward, three more district courts, including the Second, Fifth and Sixth District Courts of Appeal, expect to move over to ACIS this spring, completing the system’s data migration.
More information about registering for an ACIS account and using the system is available online.
Behind the State’s New Appellate Case Information System
After partnering with Thomson Reuters, the Office of the State Courts Administrator has successfully developed and rolled out its appellate case information system, providing access to all public dockets.
(Scott Keeler/Times/TNS)
