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Tippecanoe Courts Making The Switch To E-Filing

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Tippecanoe County is taking another step toward doing all of its court business online.

Clerk Christa Coffey says a memorandum of understanding was reached with the state Friday and approved by county commissioners Monday to switch over to the Odyssey integrated case management system.

She says initially it won’t be much different than the CourtView system the county currently uses.

But Coffey says starting next year, Tippecanoe Courts will start e-filing cases, which will be more convenient for citizens and attorneys.

“There’ll be a really nice pro se, not represented by an attorney, portal," says Coffey. "All the standard forms will be there so, literally, they can log onto their computer at midnight if they’re upset about something. They won’t have to come into the building, go through security, and do all of those things to file their paperwork.”

Coffey says the state is covering the cost of the Odyssey system.

She says while the switch to the new system will take a lot of work, she believes it’ll ultimately be more cost-effective and efficient – especially because the new system may require fewer staff to operate.

“It really just changes instead of pushing paper we’ll be clicking mouse buttons," says Coffey. "So initially I don’t see there will be any reduction of staff. It could be that down the road, as people retire or leave the office they’re not replaced as a result of streamlining the process, but not initially.”

Odyssey is the case management system used by Indiana courts at the state level – a system the state has gradually been moving most counties to, as well.

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