The state's judiciary continues to trudge into the information age, with the state's largest circuit court now partially accessible online, as Jimmie Gates of The Clarion-Ledger reports.

Electronic filing -- which is the universal norm in federal court, of course -- would a big deal in Mississippi. This is a largely rural state, but with business conducted regularly at every corner of the map, it's possible for an attorney to practice in a court more than 350 miles away from his office. It's not hard to imagine how much trouble electronic filing could save an attorney in Southaven who has a case in Biloxi.

But so far, the promise of electronic filing in state court has been little more than that: a promise. Since the Madison County Chancery Court became the first court to go online in mid-2009, just four counties have gone electronic.