Maryland Electronic Courts (MDEC) launches at Prince George’s County district and circuit courts

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Beginning on Monday, October 17, 2022, Prince George’s County will be the latest jurisdiction to implement the Maryland Electronic Courts (MDEC) case management system. MDEC modernizes court processes and makes case filing more convenient for attorneys and litigants. With the implementation of MDEC, electronic filing is now mandatory for attorneys representing clients in civil and criminal cases in the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County and in the District Court in Prince George’s County, as well as for any appellate filings that originate in Prince George’s County. Electronic filing remains optional for self-represented litigants.

The Circuit Court for Prince George's County and the District Court in Prince George’s County will be open only to staff on October 17, 2022, in preparation for MDEC. The Circuit and District Court will re-open to the public on Tuesday, October 18.

“With the addition of Prince George’s County to the Maryland Electronic Courts platform, the Maryland Judiciary has migrated and modernized 23 of the 24 jurisdictions in the state to e-filing,” said Chief Judge Matthew J. Fader, Court of Appeals of Maryland. “This technology infrastructure improvement for one of the largest jurisdictions in the state greatly improves the Judiciary’s ability to provide access to justice and service to the public. I thank all the judges, court staff, and Judicial Information Systems (JIS) for their hard work and dedication to this effort.”

The launch of electronic filing in Prince George’s County nearly completes the Judiciary’s goal to bring electronic filing to every state court in Maryland. The transition will be complete when Baltimore City, which is next in line, joins the MDEC operating system.

“We are adept at MDEC implementation, as we have now launched in each of 23 different jurisdictions while maintaining daily court operations,” said District Court of Maryland Chief Judge John P. Morrissey. “The Prince George’s administrative and associate judges, court leadership, and staff members have been extraordinarily dedicated to this effort, which has included in-depth training, extensive computer programming, and many other preparatory measures.”

The Judiciary’s automated system allows attorneys to transition from a paper-based process to a technology-based electronic filing system.

“In Prince George’s County, we are elated to launch MDEC, which will make our services and resources more accessible to attorneys and the citizens who we serve,” said The Honorable Sheila R. Tillerson Adams, Chief and Administrative Judge of the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County and the Seventh Judicial Circuit of Maryland. “Over the last few years, our employees have spent countless hours working with Tyler Technologies and JIS to ensure that our electronic transformation is successful and will enhance our ability to continue to provide efficient services and a fair forum for justice to the citizens of our county.”

“The employees of District Court in Prince George’s County in both Hyattsville and Upper Marlboro have worked extremely hard to transition to MDEC. We’ve proudly done this work to allow users to file electronically and access documents from any location,” said District Administrative Judge Lisa Hall Johnson, District Five, District Court in Prince George’s County. “The MDEC case management system modernizes the courts by making us more accessible to the public, the bar, and our justice partners.”

For more information about MDEC, visit https://www.mdcourts.gov/mdec/efilingatty.