The Maine Judicial Branch has announced its plans to expand the eFileMaine system to include criminal and juvenile cases in the Androscoggin County Unified Criminal Docket, specifically in Auburn Superior and Lewiston District Courts. This expansion is set to be operational by March 2025. The implementation marks a significant milestone as these courts will be the first in the state to fully integrate all case types into the new electronic case management system.
Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Valerie Stanfill highlighted the importance of this development, stating, "The addition of criminal and juvenile case types in Lewiston and Auburn is a pivotal moment. It will allow us to accelerate our end goal of reducing paper, improving efficiencies, and eliminating antiquated systems statewide by enabling us to implement the full complement of case types in each trial court over the next couple of years."
Chief Justice Stanfill also acknowledged potential challenges with transitioning from traditional filing methods. She said, "One of the reasons we are announcing the implementation of eFiling for criminal and juvenile cases three months before our scheduled go live is that we recognize the need for additional training and support resources to assist attorneys and staff who will be transitioning from conventional filing to eFiling. We will be announcing a training schedule soon."
Upon launch, attorneys and government entities, excluding law enforcement, will be required to use eFileMaine for electronic document submission in criminal and juvenile cases at these courts. However, self-represented litigants can continue using current filing methods.
Currently, eFiling is available for civil and family cases across several other Maine courts including those in Bangor, Rumford, South Paris, Farmington District Courts as well as the Business and Consumer Docket.
Maine eCourts utilizes Tyler Technologies' Enterprise Justice Software which facilitates court docket management, digital file storage, online payments along with eFiling through its File & Serve platform.
For more information on Maine eCourts or updates on eFiling initiatives by the Judicial Branch visit their official website.