Philadelphia City Hall. Photo: Shutterstock

The First Judicial District’s online docket search function stopped working Wednesday, less than two months after the First Judicial System‘s online filing system was shuttered for six weeks in an effort to contain what officials called a “virus intrusion.”

Although the recent problem appears to be limited mostly to the online docket search function, attorneys in Philadelphia who regularly rely on the court’s online system say the recent development comes after they have experienced lingering problems in the wake of the hack.

“It’s nonstop problems,” Marciano & MacAvoy attorney Kevin Marciano said. “Sometimes you can’t even get on. Sometimes you can’t file stuff once you get on.”

“I’m sure they’re trying to work the bugs out,” Marciano added. “We’re being patient, but it is taking up more man hours to do something we’re so used to doing.”

Along with problems accessing the online docket, attorneys who spoke with The Legal primarily reported periodic trouble filing dockets online, and opening hyperlinked documents sent to them by the court system.

“For the most part the court’s filing system works pretty well. There are sporadic periods where [a given filing] can’t be found on the server,” Nancy Winkler of Eisenberg, Rothweiler, Winkler, Eisenberg & Jeck said.

Messa & Associates attorney Joseph Messa said his firm has been experiencing access problems too, although he said the problem did not appear to be systemic.

“It certainly hasn’t been all the time,” he said. “It makes you realize how important electronic filing is and how much you rely on it.”

Gabriel Roberts, a spokesman for the FJD, said that the online search function for the Common Pleas Civil and Orphans’ Court dockets have been temporarily suspended due to “application maintenance.” He did not have an exact timeframe for when the online search function will be back online, however, he noted that the court is continuing to address tech issues as they arise.

“While the public-facing applications that we have are largely functional at this point, we are always making improvements to the system, especially following the events in May,” he said.

The court’s website was initially shut down in late May to “safeguard” its systems after the FJD experienced what a city spokesman said was a “virus intrusion on a limited number of computers.”

The shutdown, however, left the First Judicial District’s website, online civil docket search and the e-filing system for civil and criminal cases inaccessible for six weeks. Public access to court filings through the city’s public computers for criminal records, filings, motions and appeals were also down.

The court has been circumspect about the intrusion that occurred.

During the weeks officials worked to get the court’s online systems back online, attorneys resorted to using couriers to file papers, and resorted to the honor system when it came to notifying parties that motions had been filed. Several law firms also began imposing internal deadlines that required lawyers to draft filings far in advance of the court-mandated filing deadlines in case couriers experienced traffic or long lines at the court.

Marciano said his office is still operating under a self-imposed deadline.

“It’s just taking longer,” Marciano said. “If you don’t file something online, and it’s time-sensitive, then you have to send it down by courier.”

Attorneys said they were trying to be patient, since the e-filing system going down over the summer was a strain not only on attorneys, but on the court itself, and they were hopeful the problems would be resolved soon.

“I think all the lawyers understand that it’s a work in progress,” Marciano said. “We got a taste of what it used to be like and it really wasn’t a lot of fun.”