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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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 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 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
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
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
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
First Judicial District of Pennsylvania
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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
• 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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