Document Management News

The US courts are improving the efficiency of their document management with the use of digital signatures by judges for the first time.

John Facciola, magistrate judge for the US District Court in Columbia, has issued the first digitally signed judicial order in US history.

Despite the widespread use of electronic filing systems across US courts, documents still required handwritten signatures by judges on paper. The ability to implement reliable digital signatures for court filings now changes this requirement.

The judge received a high assurance signing credential issued by the National Notary Association (NNA) (www.nationalnotary.org), and using services and technologies developed by Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), VeriSign (www.verisign.com), Adobe Systems, SafeNet and ChosenSecurity.

The technology partners said Facciola has shown that by using intuitive and cost-effective procedures, justice agencies can exchange digitally signed documents that are highly resistant to tampering or falsification, and whose authenticity can be verified at any time by any person.

"A judge signs his or her name many times each day," said Facciola. "The capability to sign electronically an order or other document should create in the people who see it an assurance that the document was signed by the judge and eliminate corrupt attempts to use forged, electronically created documents for improper ends."

Facciola added, "This is the next logical development in the transition from paper to electronic filing. Implementing electronic signatures will keep the court's processes consistent and contemporary with the actual practices of the society the court serves."

John Landwehr, Adobe (www.adobe.com) director of security solutions and strategy, said, "This significant milestone reaffirms that digital signatures offer greater assurances than traditionally signed documents, as they meet higher authentication standards and are protected throughout the document lifecycle."

Adobe Acrobat software and the Portable Document Format ( PDF) were the core of the signing process. Both the time stamp and digital certificate are rooted under the Adobe Certified Document Services and Adobe Approved Trust List programs, which allow automatic validation using the most current version of Adobe Reader software.