Federal courts OK e-mail filing

Federal trial and bankruptcy court litigants can now e-mail or fax their filings.The initial lawsuit still must be filed in paper form, but other filings such as briefs and motions can be filed electronically if both sides agree, a U.S. Courts spokesman said.The Supreme Court and the federal Judicial Conference approved the change, the spokesman said, adding that the decision was not a result of the recent anthrax scare.The initiative is part of the judiciary’s case management and electronic case files project that will replace aging electronic docketing and case management in more than 200 bankruptcy, district and appellate courts by 2005, he said.