First Judicial District of Pennsylvania

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Record Retention & Disposition: Lessons Learned In Philadelphia county

Nittany Lion Innstate college, pa

PJ/PACM Conference - Tuesday, June 3, 2014

First Judicial District of Pennsylvania

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COURSE PLANNER: Dominic J. Rossi, Esq.

PACM Vice PresidentDeputy Court Administrator

Philadelphia County FACULTY:  

Anjeza Keirstead Deputy Clerk, Office of Judicial

Records FJD Record Retention Officer

Philadelphia County

Edward V. Lehmann, Jr. Director, Case Processing & Data

ManagementDomestic Relations Division

Philadelphia County

First Judicial District of Pennsylvania

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Supreme Court of PennsylvaniaAdministrative Office of PA Courts

Record Retention & Disposition Schedule with Guidelines

For Courts of Common Pleas, Magisterial District Courts,

Philadelphia Municipal Court, and the Pittsburgh Magistrate’s Court

Adopted 11/28/2001, effective 1/14/2002Amended 12/13/2013, effective 1/01/2014

First Judicial District of Pennsylvania

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DEFINITIONS

Permanent Records – may not be destroyed

may be disposed if they are replicated as required by the applicable schedules adopted by the Supreme Court,

prior approval must be received from the AOPC

First Judicial District of Pennsylvania

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DEFINITIONS

Non-permanent Records – need to be retained for a specified period of time

may be disposed without prior approval upon expiration of the retention period

First Judicial District of Pennsylvania

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DEFINITIONSRecords not subject to retention – Records used by system and related personnel of the Unified Judicial System as unofficial in-house working papers, reference and drafts

These records need not be maintained permanently or for a specified period of time

No approval is required to dispose of these records.

First Judicial District of Pennsylvania

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MANDATORY MINIMUM RETENTION PERIODS The record retention periods are minimum terms for the retention of the respective files after which the files may be disposed.

may be destroyed but they may also be retained for longer than the established retention periods.

Þ Those decisions are best left to court records management officials and their leaders.

Þ Absent good cause to the contrary, personnel should dispose of files in conformity with the minimum standards in the schedules.

ÞThe retention periods have undergone considerable scrutiny, both in terms of practicality and for conformance with legally accepted standards from many sources.

First Judicial District of Pennsylvania

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Judiciary

First Judicial District of Pennsylvania

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4.4 Personal Records of the Judiciary the judiciary should dispose of personal files not integrally related to court operations. the judiciary is encouraged to minimizethe numbers and types of files to be retained certain files often included among judicial personal records are already retained elsewhere, and it is neither necessary, nor advisable, to retain these types of files:

First Judicial District of Pennsylvania

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Notes of Testimony

Pre-Sentence Reports

Mental Health Evaluation Reports

Pleadings

First Judicial District of Pennsylvania

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4.4.1 Retention Period.

Records submitted for storage by the judiciary will be retained for as long as the records are of administrative value and as otherwise specified by the individual judge no record will be retained for any longer than two years from the conclusion of the judge’s term of office

First Judicial District of Pennsylvania

120 judges

In October 2012 a review of the Iron Mountain storage bill revealed for this account a monthly cost of $11,075

A review and destruction project was spearheaded from Court Administration in conjunction with Philadelphia Judiciary

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First Judicial District of Pennsylvania Issues

MANY Retired or deceased Judges & court employees

Records dating as far back as 1965 Paperwork on file did not match the

vendor’s systemBox’s content did not match the labelInsufficient training –storing/periodic

review

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First Judicial District of Pennsylvania Plan of Action

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Judicial Review and Approval

Individual Judges

Individual Disposal Log

Administrative Services

Review and Approval

Records Retention Officer

Authorization for destruction

Administrative Services

Review of destruction cost and monthly bill

Procurement Unit

First Judicial District of PennsylvaniaPlan - Collaboration

Judiciary Appointment of a Point of Contact (Judge Bernstein)

Procurement Office Fiscal Data and Vendor Relations (Iron Mountain)

Administrative Services Coordination with Judiciary and vendor

Court Administration Records Retention Officer, Legal Services

Office of Court Reporters Identify Records eligible for destruction

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First Judicial District of PennsylvaniaExample –Iron Mountain Report

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First Judicial District of Pennsylvania

Plan of Action – More Collaboration

Vendor database reports prepared for each judge

Formal request to judges & family members sent via email by Judge Bernstein

Disposal Log Forms were prepared for each judge

Building and Facility requested disposal of records authorized by the judges or family

All disposal requests were reviewed and approved by the Records Retention Officer

Administrative Services contacted vendor and authorized record disposal

Procurement Unit monitored disposal cost 17

First Judicial District of PennsylvaniaExample

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First Judicial District of PennsylvaniaData Retention

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First Judicial District of PennsylvaniaOutcome

Initiative Resulted in HUGE Savings

38,839.80 cubic feet destroyed Monthly invoice October 2012

$11,075 Monthly invoice April 2014

$375 Monthly Invoice June 2014 $

100

$10,975 Monthly Savings 20

First Judicial District of Pennsylvania

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Criminal Records – Clerk of Courts

Þ Supreme Court Order - April 1, 2010 - transferring the duties and powers from Clerk of Quarter Sessions to First Judicial District of PA

Þ Transition from Clerk of Quarter Sessions to Clerk of Courts

Þ Abolishment of the Clerk of Quarter Sessions as elected office on October 12, 2010

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First Judicial District of Pennsylvania

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First Judicial District of Pennsylvania

Initial Findings

19,854 boxes of criminal-related records stored in City Archives dating back to August 1866

NO records were EVER destroyed, except a small project in 1997

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First Judicial District of Pennsylvania

Findings Duplicative efforts

The FJD routinely microfilmed records … and the Clerk of Quarter Sessions continued to store and not dispose records

Absence of a centralized storage location for Courts and Clerk of Quarter Sessions Records stored in Criminal Justice Center and

in City’s Warehouse (30th and Market St.) No proactive approach to periodically review,

identify and destroy eligible files

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First Judicial District of PennsylvaniaPlan of Action

Dedicate qualified personnel to oversee the Record Destruction Project

Collaborate with FJD Department of Innovation and Technology

Utilize CPCMS to extract Excel reports and filter by pre-identified parameters

Generate lists identifying eligible records for destruction

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First Judicial District of Pennsylvania

Manual review of records to verify case disposition

Completion of Record Disposal Log by Record Custodian accompanied by the Excel file and random files for cross reference in CPCMS

Review and approval by Records Retention Officer

Coordinate with Court’s Administrative Services staff for destruction of non-confidential records and with the Department of Streets for pick up and destruction of confidential records

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First Judicial District of Pennsylvania

Identification of Records Criteria – CPCMS Extract Case Type - MC Misdemeanor Disposition type

Withdrawn Dismissed Not Guilty

Zero financial case balance No active case associations Additional Information included in the Report

Docket number Year of record Final disposition date

First Judicial District of Pennsylvania

Sample CPCMS List

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DocketNo Year ShortCaption CaseStatus CreateDt CaseDisposition Disposition IsFinalDisposition Bail AmtMC-51-CR-0100161-2005 2005 Comm. v. James, Tyrone Closed 02-Nov-04 Dismissed 17-Feb-05 TRUE $3,000.00MC-51-CR-0100231-2004 2004 Comm. v. Womack, Richard Closed 04-Jan-04 Not Guilty 25-Aug-04 TRUE $1,000.00MC-51-CR-0100231-2004 2004 Comm. v. Womack, Richard Closed 04-Jan-04 Not Guilty 25-Aug-04 TRUE $1,000.00MC-51-CR-0100261-2004 2004 Comm. v. White, Christopher Closed 04-Jan-04 Dismissed 23-Apr-04 TRUE $3,500.00MC-51-CR-0100381-2004 2004 Comm. v. Smith, Darryl Closed 04-Jan-04 Withdrawn 29-Jan-04 TRUE $5,000.00MC-51-CR-0100401-2004 2004 Comm. v. Graham, Levi Closed 04-Jan-04 Withdrawn 04-Jun-04 TRUE $1,000.00MC-51-CR-0100411-2004 2004 Comm. v. Petaccio, John Closed 04-Jan-04 Dismissed 07-Sep-04 TRUE $8,000.00MC-51-CR-0100421-2004 2004 Comm. v. Petaccio, John Closed 04-Jan-04 Dismissed 07-Sep-04 TRUE $8,000.00MC-51-CR-0100421-2005 2005 Comm. v. White, David Closed 02-Jan-04 Dismissed 16-Feb-05 TRUE $5,000.00MC-51-CR-0100431-2004 2004 Comm. v. Petaccio, John Antho Closed 04-Jan-04 Dismissed 07-Sep-04 TRUE $8,000.00MC-51-CR-0100441-2004 2004 Comm. v. Bobe, Alberto Closed 04-Jan-04 Withdrawn 27-May-04 TRUE $2,500.00

MC-51-CR-0100451-2004 2004 Comm. v. Jones, Brent Closed 04-Jan-04 Dismissed 12-Jan-04 TRUE $3,000.00

MC-51-CR-0100481-2004 2004 Comm. v. Bickham, Donny Closed 04-Jan-04 Withdrawn 03-May-04 TRUE $1,038,111.00MC-51-CR-0100491-2004 2004 Comm. v. Oscar, Sanchez Closed 04-Jan-04 Not Guilty 05-May-04 TRUE $3,000.00MC-51-CR-0100491-2005 2005 Comm. v. Bush, Asa Closed 26-Dec-04 Withdrawn 05-Jul-05 TRUE $15,000.00MC-51-CR-0100521-2004 2004 Comm. v. Gibson, Kevin Closed 04-Jan-04 Dismissed 09-Feb-04 TRUE $500.00

First Judicial District of Pennsylvania

RESULTS

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Space Savings: Destroyed 170,350 files since Sept. 2012 147,000 additional files identified for

destruction

Updated CPCMS with docket entry reflecting destruction of non-convicted records Eliminated dual efforts and repetition Eliminated storage of records in outside facilities Created and implement internal retention and disposal process and protocols

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Office of Judicial Records – Training Center

Tangible Results

Judicial Records and Court Reporters Lessons Learned

Need support from Judicial Leadership Cooperation among units and

departments will translate into HUGE financial savings

Assign Record Custodians for each department & appoint a District Records Retention Officer

Constantly review your operations to improve and update record retention and disposal practices

Success is contagious! 31

First Judicial District of Pennsylvania

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The Family Court Experience

First Judicial District of Pennsylvania

Section 5.3 Domestic Relations Records

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Category Description Retention Period

DOMESTIC RELATIONS

Divorce and Annulment Papers

Complaint; Proof/Affidavit/Acknowledgment of Service of complaint/Answers/Counter Claim; Final Decree; Property, Custody, Alimony, and Support Orders; Agreements; and Notice of Election to Retake Prior Name.

Retain permanently for administrative and legal purposes.

All other papers in Divorce or Annulment actions (e.g. Masters’ Reports, Notes of Testimony, Inventories and Appraisements, Income and Expense Statements, Correspondence, Proposed/Suggested Schedules of Distribution, Notices of Counseling, Hearing Notices, and other Certificates of service Special Relief Papers)

Retain for 5 years after Final Decree in Divorce or Annulment.

Domestic Relation Files

Complaint for Support, Support Orders, Acknowledgments of Paternity and Genetic test results, Petitions for Modification, Transcripts of Court Proceedings, Court Opinions, and Appeals to Superior Court, Custody records in matters not involving divorce.

Retain permanently, except for custody records in matters not involving divorce. If not part of a divorce action, retain 20 years after filing of order granting custody.

Orders for earnings and health insurance information, Appearance Orders, Bench Warrant Orders, Contempt Orders, and Income Withholding Orders.

Retain 4 years unless otherwise provided by the appropriate administering, funding, licensing agency (Bureau of Child Support , PA DPW, and BCSE, U.S. Dept. of HHS).

Dockets and Indices Dockets and indices pertaining to papers filed in Domestic Relations cases, including Divorce and Annulment.

Retain permanently.

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Obstacles to Record Management• One Family = Three files, three separate docket

numbers:• Support and Custody• Divorce• Domestic Violence

• Multiple computer systems:• PARENTS – 1995-2005 – county case processing

system for all DR case types • PACSES – Pennsylvania Automated Child

Support Enforcement System – implemented in 1999

• BANNER – 2005-present – county case processing system for Custody, Divorce and Domestic Violence

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Obstacles to Record Management• Logistics:

• Domestic Relations Division• 34 S. 11th Street, 46 S. 11th Street, • 27 S. 12th Street & 1133 Chestnut Street

• Juvenile, Dependency, Adoptions• 1801 Vine Street

• Presently have approximately 350,000 support and custody records housed at multiple DR locations

• Records date back to the 1980s• 2010-2011 – with AOPC approval began

microfilming and disposal effort of closed cases

First Judicial District of Pennsylvania

First Judicial District of Pennsylvania

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First Judicial District of Pennsylvania

First Judicial District of Pennsylvania

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First Judicial District of Pennsylvania

• Unified Philadelphia Family Court located at 1501 Arch Street nearing completion

• Relocation requires moving files and documents from these multiple locations

• 33,000 linear feet of file space• In preparation, in 2013 DR

implemented a document management system with intent to scan as many files and documents as possible prior to moving.

First Judicial District of Pennsylvania

Enterprise ImagingAn initiative to establish a standard transactional content management solution within the Bureau of Information Systems (BIS) support enterprise including Department of Public Welfare (DPW), Pennsylvania Insurance Department (PID) and Department of Aging.

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First Judicial District of Pennsylvania

Enterprise ImagingCapabilities to be supported include: Document Imaging – scanning and capture of

documents Content Management – central repository for

documents Document Workflow – automated document

routing Records Management – ensure documents in

repository are maintained as mandated

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First Judicial District of Pennsylvania

Enterprise ImagingDPW/BCSE/PACSES volunteered to

be firstPresently in General System DesignPhased implementation

BCSE & Pilot Counties – Philadelphia, Allegheny, York – 3rd Qtr. 2015

Counties w/o imaging solutions – 4th Qtr. 2015

Counties w/imaging solutions – 1st Qtr. 2016

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First Judicial District of Pennsylvania

Identification of Records Day Forward

All cases that have docket/case number of 2014 or greater

All documents scanned as individual documents

Day Backward “Custody” portion of record is being scanned

on an “as-needed” basis Custody Master or Judge

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First Judicial District of Pennsylvania

Process Record is sorted into Custody and Support

Documents All support documents are returned to

record to be scanned and stored as part of the Enterprise Imaging Initiative

Custody documents are sorted by document type, then placed in chronological order

After scanning, permanent documents are returned to the file, non-permanent documents to be destroyed

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First Judicial District of Pennsylvania

Results Less dependency on the paper file Eliminate multiple copies of same document

sent to file Scanning and disposal of non-permanent

documents creates much needed file space Still need to relocate files and documents to

new facility In-house scanning will continue and

implementation of Enterprise Imaging will dramatically expedite the process and enhance record storage, retention and disposal 43

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Thank You!

First Judicial District of Pennsylvania