Federal judiciary leaders have announced plans to accelerate the development of a new national case management system intended to replace the judiciary’s long-standing Case Management/Electronic Case Files platform. The current CM/ECF system has been used for nearly 30 years to manage court filings and provide public access to more than one billion records.
At a meeting of the Judicial Conference, judges overseeing court technology and administration said initial components of the new system will be tested this year in six courts. District courts are expected to begin adopting aspects of the platform first, with appellate and bankruptcy courts to follow.
Judiciary officials said the accelerated timeline, projected to finish two to three years sooner than originally planned, reflects growing cybersecurity risks and operational pressures affecting the existing system. The modernization effort aims to improve security, streamline court workflows and provide more reliable nationwide access to electronic case records.