The pilot phase for the Protection Order Registry Electronic Signature Enhancement began on July 25th in Grant and Wabash counties. As of August 3rd, there have been 21 Orders created where the judicial officer’s digital signature was attached. As a result, whenever these Orders are printed from the Registry there will be a judicial officer signature on the Order and those Orders will no longer read “Original Signature on File with Court of Record.”
“I’ve been using the e-signature feature for No-Contact Orders and Protective Orders for the last week. To enter your electronic signature on the form you only have to check one block and enter your PIN. That’s it, it works perfectly!” stated Warren Haas, Judge, Grant County Superior Court 3.
Judge Christopher Goff, Wabash County Superior Court, stated, “I particularly value the electronic signature enhancement because I stop everything to consider the Petition, and now that my electronic signature is available, it prevents additional court interruptions which allows for a smoother process for issuing Orders of Protection.”
The electronic signature enhancement will allow law enforcement the ability to print a signed copy of the Order from any computer and printer with Internet access, even in their vehicles. Should an incident arise where there is a need to execute service on a respondent/defendant during a routine traffic stop or during a domestic incident, the officer will have a signed copy of the Order to execute service. In addition, a signed copy of the Order can be printed directly from the Registry without having to pull the official court file to make a copy of the Order.
The pilot will continue for another week, and JTAC will keep recording the digital signatures of judicial officers throughout the state. Notification of the statewide deployment of this enhancement will be sent to all judges via e-mail with a step-by-step guide for use.
For more information or questions regarding the Protection Order Registry and the Electronic Signature Enhancement please contact LaJuan Epperson at lepperson@jtac.in.gov or 317-234-2870.
