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First Judicial District of Pennsylvania - Office of the Court Administrator • Room 336 City Hall • Philadelphia, PA 19107 • (215) 686-2547

Fax: (215) 686-7485

For Immediate Release

Date: November 20, 1998

Contact: Joseph J. DiPrimio, Esq., Court Administrator

Phone: (215) 686-2547

Fax: (215) 686-7485

Philadelphia Courts Announce Internet Access to Lawsuit Data

[Philadelphia, PA] [Philadelphia, PA]Common Pleas Court President Judge Alex Bonavitacola and Trial Division Administrative Judge John W. Herron, together with the Prothonotary of Philadelphia County, Joseph H. Evers, announced today that access to Civil Docket information is now available through the Internet.

The First Judicial District of Pennsylvania (FJD) is one of this country's first Courts to go on-line with Internet access to details of lawsuits contained in Civil Dockets. This accomplishment is a landmark event for the Courts of Philadelphia. The sheer volume of filings and cases underscores the need for efficient access to information. In the FJD, the entire on-line system contains an estimated 1.7 million civil cases.

For attorneys and litigants - or anyone with an interest, a computer, and a modem - access to the docket information is quick and easy, but may require the user to enter a nine-digit Case ID Number (click "Help" and "Tips on Refining Your Search" for additional information ). The steps are relatively simple:

If the Case ID Number is known: 1) go to the District's award- winning website (http://courts.phila.gov); 2) click on "Civil Docket Access"; 3) click on "Display Civil Docket Report"; and 4) when the search screen appears, enter the Case ID number. The docket Civil Docket Report screen for the case will appear.

If the Case ID Number is not known: 1) go to website (http://courts.phila.gov); 2) click on "Civil Docket Access"; and 3) click on "Search by Person Name or Company Name" to find lawsuits according to parties' names, or click on "Search for Judgments Against a Person or a Company" to seek cases listed by awards made against a person or company (These searches will result in displays that include the requisite Case ID numbers); and 4) click on "Case I.D." The Civil Docket Report screen will appear.

Special components have been built into the system to allow for more focused searches, and therefore faster results. An informative Help Desk is also available.

This important milestone in civil case management arose from a larger organized effort ordered by Court leaders when they saw opportunities to implement modern case management techniques to handle the increasing volume of civil litigation in the 90's. The aim is to improve service delivery to the populace. New strategies - including the much heralded Day Backward program that successfully retired twenty-eight thousand pending lawsuits - required new, automated management tools. Internet Access to FJD Court records arrives during a time of growing Internet popularity, and burgeoning technological capabilities for the Court. With this and other innovations, today and into the new millennium, attorneys, litigants, and the public benefit from the greater and more timely availability of information.

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