High Tech to Streamline Probate in Orange County

In one of the first efforts nationwide to achieve a “paperless courthouse,” the probate department of Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana has purchased a $1.3-million computerized document processing system.

Made by Costa Mesa-based FileNet Corp., the system uses a scanner to electronically store huge volumes of paper documents on an optical disk storage system, which can be used to index the files in a database and retrieve appropriate documents within seconds of a request.

Estate examiners, lawyers and litigants often have to wait in line to view wills, estates and other documents. Court officials say, however, that the FileNet system will allow more than one person to view a document at the same time and, for courtroom staff, eliminate the tedious task of filing and and retrieving documents.

“This is the first court we’re aware of that will use an imaging system,” said Ted Smith, chairman and chief executive of FileNet. “It can improve the efficiency of the criminal justice system.”

Gary Granville, county clerk, described the system as “a first step toward a completely paperless courtroom. As such, it represents a breakthrough not only in streamlining our operations but also in controlling costs.”

About 5,000 cases are filed each year in the probate department. When the system goes on-line in February, about 8,500 active files made up of roughly 844,000 pages will be available for viewing and printout within seconds. The system has the capacity to store more than 14 million pages.

FileNet will install 40 terminals throughout the probate, mediation, investigative services and the county mental health departments. Three terminals will be available for public use in the probate department starting in February.

FileNet officials said the processing system could be used as a model for other courts around the country. The Federal State Justice Institute has commissioned a study and a cost/benefit analysis on the impact of the technology on court operations.

Alan Slater, executive officer of the Orange County Superior Court, said he hopes to install the system in all county courts. Eventually, he hopes legal professionals will be able to access the records from their offices via personal computers.

“Paperless courthouse may be a misnomer,” Slater said. “But there certainly will be a ‘less-paper’ environment.”

Smith said that the idea of a “paperless office” has not advanced as far as he originally expected when he first formed FileNet in 1982. But he said the industry is on the edge of exponential growth and analysts estimate it could be a $3.2-billion market worldwide by 1993.

FileNet has installed more than 350 document processing systems in 28 countries. The applications span 18 different industries from banking to manufacturing, but the company focuses on selling to businesses or government agencies that are paper-intensive.