Statewide, Iowa — Court documents are piling up across Iowa. They are unable to be filed because the electronic system used by judges, court clerks and lawyers in Iowa failed this week.
The Electronic Data Management System had “spotty” availability on Monday, but went completely down on Tuesday. Court system spokesman Steve Davis says the problem was caused by computer software.
Chief Justice Mark Cady signed an order Tuesday allowing clerks of court to accept paper filings until further notice. The computer system is regularly backed up, according to Davis, so workers are using that information to restore the system.
Davis added that hacking had nothing to do with the problem.
It’s unclear when the problem will be fixed.
When we called a clerk of court’s office on Wednesday morning, we were told that while old records are available on Iowa Courts Online, the secure system used by judges, court clerks and lawyers is the one that’s not working.
Plymouth County was the first county in Iowa to file court records electronically in January 2010. The system went statewide on July 1, 2015.
