A new year brings a new look for the Court of Claims of Ohio website. The court today debuted its new site, which was redesigned to be more user-friendly and with the public’s interest in mind.

Mark Reed, Court of Claims clerk of the court, said the new website will no longer be lawyer-oriented. The old website was designed in the 1990s and was written by attorneys.

“We like the design of it well. It’s graphically pleasing. It’s less verbiage. It’s more about funneling people to the right place to get the information that they need quickly,” Reed said.

Reed said nearly two-thirds of Court of Claims cases are filed by the general public.

“I think it really presents an opportunity for people to use the website in a way they haven’t had in the past. They can search for a case. They’ll eventually be able to pay for any fees or costs they’ve have on there. You can sit at home and file your case from your living room,” Reed said. “We are quite proud of our new website.”

Browsers can now sign up and follow cases by name, attorney, or type of case, which Reed said is new to the Court of Claims website.

“You’ve been able to look at cases, but you haven’t been able to subscribe to a case,” Reed said. “Subscribing to a case, I think is really important. When we talked to the lawyers, they all loved that. They all believe they are not getting served as quickly as they should, so they want to know what is happening on their case immediately. But the people who really loved it was the press.”

Reed said the media can easily find out if something happens to a high profile case they follow.

“Media do not want to keep checking on a case and calling us and those kinds of things. When they subscribe to a case, as soon as something happens on a case they’ll know immediately, so it will save some time,” Reed said.

Online payments and electronic filing could be accepted within the next six months, and Reed anticipates it will only allow for better accessibility for the end user. The website also has an extensive frequently asked questions section.

“That means, again, sitting in your home on a Friday night at 10 o’clock you’ll be able to figure out how to file or get any answers to your questions just by looking at our website,” Reed said.

“I really hope people begin to use the website in a way that makes accessibility to our court more apparent,” Reed said.