March 3, 1998

Honorable Jean H. Toal

Associate Justice

The Supreme Court of South Carolina

Post Office Box 11330

Columbia, South Carolina 29211

ATTN :	Clyde N. Davis, Jr.

Clerk, Supreme Court

Dear Mr. Davis:

I am in receipt of Justice Toal 's letter to me of February 20, 1998 regarding the circulating process of the cases in the Court of Appeals of Georgia. The Court of Appeals of Georgia is a ten judge court which operates in panels or divisions of three judges. If there is a dissent on the division the case is decided by the next division in succession and a seventh judge, generally the chief judge. If the Court wishes, a case can be passed upon by all ten judges. The chief judge rotates among the divisions serving with the First Division for the January Term, the Second Division for the April Term and the Third Division for the September Term.

All of the judges in the Court of Appeals of Georgia are headquartered in the Judicial Building in Atlanta. Cases are circulated to the members of the panel or the seven judge court or the ten judge court by hand delivery by the judges' administrative assistants. While the Court has the capacity to transmit the cases electronically, the hard copies are carried to each judge's office in succession on the particular division.

The Court has utilized an electronic process for disseminating the opinions for about two and one half years. When a judge's office completes an opinion, the hard copy is brought to the clerk's office and logged in. Simultaneously, the electronic version of the opinion is transmitted to the reporter's office. The reporter's office transmits the opinion electronically to the official reporter and the collateral reporters. The cases which are transmitted contemporaneously with filing in the clerk's office carry a disclaimer stating that the case is subject to editorial change, motion for reconsideration or application for certiorari to the Supreme Court of Georgia.

Letter to the Honorable Jean H. Toal

ATTN : Clyde N. Davis, Jr., Clerk

March 3, 1998

Page Two

The Court also utilizes an opinion tracking system which allows us to electronically track the progress of a case from office to office in the Court. Also, dissents or special concert concurrences are transmitted electronically to the authoring judge's office.

I have taken the liberty of forwarding your letter to our Technical Services Division and Fiscal Office to respond to your inquiries of the type of equipment the Court uses in the electronic

transmission and the costs of operating and maintaining the system.

The Court of Appeals recently adopted a record retention schedule. The records and transcripts we receive from the trial courts are duplicates. The original record is maintained at the trial court. One year after remittitur date, the record in the Court of Appeals is recycled unless the attorneys notify us to hold the record based on a likelihood that the case would return to the Court of Appeals. The party who paid for the record is free to pick up the record after one year, if the party so desires. The briefs, enumeration of errors, substantive motions and orders and opinions are microfilmed. Two master copies and one reader copy are filed with State Archives and two reader copies are maintained in the Court of Appeals. All records before 1992 are stored at State Archives, however, due to a shortage of space, Archives will no longer take our records.

If you have any additional questions or would like to discuss this matter with me further, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

William L. Martin, III

Administrator/Clerk

Court of Appeals of Georgia

WLM , III/ld

cc:	Chief Judge Gary B. Andrews

Bud Tirey

Kaye Carter