eCourts Portal officially in Burke County

As of Oct. 13, courthouse visits in western North Carolina went digital.

North Carolina officially finished implementing its eCourts Portal in all 100 counties nearly two weeks ago, with Burke County wrapped up in its final 13-county batch. According to the Clerk of Court’s office, the takeoff was a little bumpy.

Clerk of Superior Court Crystal Carpenter explained that the five to six weeks’ worth of training presented a challenge, with the office being half-staffed during the process while still maintaining business as usual. However, Carpenter believed the benefits of the state-funded program outweigh the costs.

“The thing I like so much about the system is the information is at everybody’s fingertips, not just ours,” she said. “We’re always looking for ways to improve any process for the public … We still have the same processes and the same procedures; we just have a different system to navigate.”

The portal has made all public records accessible from the comfort of home, increasing availability and ease of use within the court system across the state. While confidential records such as Power of Attorney letters are not available to the public, certain files will be attainable but redacted.

Working in the Estates division, Assistant Clerk Leslie Shaw said, “The portal allows them to see redacted versions and nonsecure versions of documents. Anything that’s public is going to be in there — the will, the application — all that is going to be in there.” She did specify that wills are only public after death, though.

While most initial filings still need to be started in person, the submission of documents and payments can be done from home. To push the new system, all lawyers are required to file electronically.

“Everything’s done electronically with criminal [cases],” Carpenter said. “If you’re getting a ticket, the officer’s writing you a ticket, but he’s also entering that into the system … I would say 95% of criminal work is electronic at this point.”

According to Morganton Public Safety Capt. Josiah Brown, electronic citations are nothing new.

“The state has been using a database called NCAware for warrants and a system for electronic citations for several years,” Brown said. “This transition just makes sure all paperwork from all counties is transitioned from paper to digital for all records. This will make items that were still being done on paper easier to track and manage going forward.”

With law enforcement familiar with similar processes, there have been few issues. Brown confirmed that any issues with court dates and warrants were resolved quickly.

Sheriff Banks Hinceman said, “The Sheriff’s Office has not experienced any issues with the transition to the new system.”

Past criminal cases, the main concern for some clerks, came down to assisting those who might have difficulty with a new, all-electronic filing system.

“We’ll try to accommodate when we can,” Shaw said. “Crystal really, really stresses the importance of good customer service. She’s all about that.” For the time being, the offices are using an appointment system for people who need assistance.

“The public’s not going to notice the difference, per se, right off the bat,” Shaw said. “Nothing’s going to change … It’s just how the record is kept.”

According to Shaw, there are three different levels where the eCourts Portal is utilized in regard to the public: e-filing, which is done by an attorney; guide and file, used by the public, often without the assistance of an attorney; and the courts use of Enterprise Justice — the program — which functions as a gatekeeper of sorts.

To access the eCourts portal, residents can visit nccourts.gov/services.