STRUTHERS — The Struthers Municipal Court system has received a grant that will benefit multiple facets almost immediately.

Last week, Judge Dominic Leone announced the municipal court was awarded a technology grant from the Ohio Supreme Court for $18,380.

The grant will cover the cost of a conversion to electronic filings, paperless features, a laptop and a scanner.

“We’re over-the-moon excited,” Leone said.

About a month ago, Leone said the Supreme Court sent out information about a remote access technology grant.

Leone said they decided to look at remote access capabilities, especially e-filing, after working on several drafts of where to focus the grant money with Amanda Mackie, bailiff.

The court now can accept filings electronically, saving money from postage and manpower, as well as saving time for attorneys and their clients

“This product has a workflow that allows for documents to be passed between staff members, allowing for efficient processing of cases,” Leone said.

Now, those in the judicial system can work remotely.

Leone said that although the system will allow for paperwork to be filed up to deadlines for each case, it can be filed from the office or home without worrying about how long the process would normally take.

The new e-filing will include various motions involved in cases through the Struthers Municipal Court, Leone said. The time-efficient system may help expedite cases for people sitting in jail for a few weeks, waiting for motions to go through the system, Mackie said.

“These are people. These are human beings,” she said.

Mackie explained the system has been operating for years with motions received by the clerks through mail or fax. Then Mackie receives the documents, who then enters the information into the computer and scans the papers.

Once she does that, she pulls the case and also the docket papers, writes everything on the docket page, when she finally assembles the papers for Leone.

With the new system, everything happens simultaneously, Mackie said. As soon as a motion is filed, it will upload to the docket.

Using the hard-copy method, Mackie said sometimes cases are resolved before the paperwork makes it through the correct process.

Outside of the pandemic, the Struthers Court building can see 35 cases per day.

Leone said an upgrade to the case management software will save paper and ink costs, with Mackie adding that the new system is environmentally friendly.

“How do you put a price on that?” Mackie said.

Some reports are printed routinely a couple of times per week, Mackie said, with Leone adding that the option to review the associated documents in a PDF format will help save costs across the board.

Leone said the savings associated with labor and materials may not be known for a couple of years.

afox@tribtoday.com