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📂 Court Document Automation Engine

"TurboTax for legal filings"

A guided workflow engine that walks users through creating, filling, and filing court documents — with jurisdiction-specific templates, auto-fill, and export to PDF/DOCX.


🔍 Problem

Filing court documents is intimidating, error-prone, and inaccessible. Self-represented litigants face complex forms with legal jargon, jurisdiction-specific requirements, and formatting rules that vary by county. Mistakes lead to rejected filings, missed deadlines, and lost cases.

💡 Solution

The Court Document Automation Engine provides step-by-step guided workflows that turn complex legal filings into simple question-and-answer flows — like TurboTax, but for court documents.

🎯 Impact

  • Self-represented litigants can file correctly the first time
  • Legal aid staff reduce document prep time by 70%+
  • Courts receive properly formatted filings, reducing rejections
  • Attorneys automate routine document generation

🏗️ Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│        Guided Workflow Interface         │
│     (Step-by-step Q&A + Progress)       │
├──────────┬──────────┬───────────────────┤
│  Form    │ Template │   Jurisdiction    │
│ Auto-Fill│  Engine  │    Router         │
├──────────┴──────────┴───────────────────┤
│       Document Assembly Engine          │
├──────────┬──────────────────────────────┤
│ PDF Gen  │       DOCX Gen              │
├──────────┴──────────────────────────────┤
│    Template Repository (by State)       │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘

🛠️ Tech Stack

Layer Technology
Frontend React + step-by-step wizard UI
Backend Node.js / Express
Templates Handlebars / Mustache templating
PDF pdf-lib / Puppeteer
DOCX docx.js / officegen
Storage S3 / local filesystem

📦 Features

Feature Description
Guided Workflows Plain-language Q&A that maps to legal forms
Form Auto-Fill Enter info once, populate across all related documents
Jurisdiction Templates State and county-specific form libraries
PDF/DOCX Export Court-ready output in standard formats
Progress Saving Save and resume document preparation
Validation Real-time field validation with plain-language error messages

🚀 Quick Start

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/court-document-automation.git
cd court-document-automation
npm install
cp .env.example .env
npm run dev

👥 Who This Helps

  • Self-represented litigants filing motions, petitions, and responses
  • Parents in custody cases preparing parenting plans
  • Legal aid clinics serving high volumes with limited staff
  • Attorneys automating routine document generation
  • Court clerks receiving properly formatted filings

🗺️ Roadmap

  • Core workflow engine
  • Template system with Handlebars
  • PDF generation pipeline
  • DOCX generation pipeline
  • Missouri family court template pack
  • Multi-state template expansion
  • E-filing integration APIs

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions! See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

📄 License

MIT License — See LICENSE for details.


⚠️ Disclaimer

This project is provided for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice, legal representation, or an attorney-client relationship. No warranty is made regarding accuracy, completeness, or fitness for any particular legal matter. Always consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction before making legal decisions. Use of this software does not create any professional-client relationship.


Built by Doug Devitre

I build AI-powered platforms that solve real problems. I also speak about it.

CoTrackPro · admin@cotrackpro.com

Hire me: AI platform development · Strategic consulting · Keynote speaking

AWS AI/Cloud/Dev Certified · UX Certified (NNg) · Certified Speaking Professional (NSA) Author of Screen to Screen Selling (McGraw Hill) · 100,000+ professionals trained

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Court Document Automation Engine — template-driven generation of court filings, motions, and legal documents with jurisdiction-aware formatting.

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