Paul Scott comment: Electronic court records are a big deal

(Comment by decorahnews.com's Paul Scott):

I know what you're thinking.  I can hear you yawning as you see the headline about Winneshiek County's court system switching to entirely digital documents.

But e-Filing court documents is not something that will just affect lawyers in Decorah.  That's because once those documents are filed with the courts, they're not just available to people with a law degree.

A big part of the switch to electronic documents is the system that will store those documents--and make them available to the public, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

In other words, the workings of the court will be open to public access.  That means the information is available to anyone with an Internet provider and a laptop, iPad or desktop.  Heck, you could even access the files from your smart phone--if you don't mind small print.

Earlier this month the Iowa Supreme Court held a session in Decorah as part of its campaign to educate the public about the stater's court system.  Now that legal proceedings in Winneshiek County will be available on-line starting July 1st, the public is about to get educated further--and that's good news for everyone concerned.