State Capitol Georgia

The Georgia First Amendment Foundation is sounding the alarm over a provision of legislation mandating statewide e-filing of court documents that it says will delay the public's ability to view court filings immediately, as is currently required by law.

Instead, court filings would be available only upon their “physical acceptance” by the clerk of the court, which could delay the ability to view them for several days, according to GFAF Board President Richard Griffiths.

“E-filing on its face is a good thing; it's faster, it's easier, it's better,” Griffiths said. “The problem is that this bill's got a carve-out that says the public can't get access to filings until they're filed manually.”