JeffCo Rolls Out Court Date Text Reminder Service

JEFFERSON COUNTY, CO. – Have a court date in Colorado? A traffic citation, misdemeanor or more serious criminal charges can become a big problem if you don't show up for court.

The Jefferson County Sheriff's office announced it will start a new program to send text and email reminders for court dates in an effort to reduce missed court appearances. Starting Monday, anyone with a court appearance will get an eCourt notification message from JeffCo:

This is a courtesy reminder that you, {Defendant Name}, have a scheduled court date for case number {case Number} on {Date} at {Time} in division {DIVISION} located at JEFFERSON COUNTY COURTS, 100 JEFFERSON COUNTY PARKWAY, GOLDEN, CO. To OPT out of reminders please reply with: STOP. For questions you may call 720-772-2590.

The new e-system is being adopted to try to reduce the number of missed court appearances which can lead to Failure to Appear (FTA) warrants issued. FTA warrants are expensive to authorize, and take up important resources, said JeffCo Sheriff Jeff Shrader.

"Court records indicate an average of 500 Failure to Appear warrants are issued each month [statewide]," Shrader said in a statement. "But if we can help people remember to show up for court, then they don’t show up in our jail for failing to appear and that’s ultimately our goal with this new program.”

After a person is assigned a court date, he or she will receive an initial text or email alert from eCourtDate.com. Then they will receive reminder notifications seven and two days prior to their court date, as well as on their court date, the sheriff's office said.

Text messages are a good way to reach people, said Chief Technology Officer Ibrahim Aissam of Orlando-Florida-based eCourtDate.com. The company works with court systems in about a dozen states to keep in touch by text with people who need to show up for court.

"Missing court isn’t like missing a doctor’s office visit, or even a lawyers appointment," Aissam said. "Missing court can have severe consequences, depending on the circumstance. You can be fined, or you can even be arrested." The company's goal is to make sure that court systems keep in touch with people who need to show up so they don't fall through the cracks.

Court systems are all different, and many send snail-mail to defendants, which can be lost, or never opened. Also, scheduled court dates are frequently changed by judges and attorneys, and the new system will allow people charged with an offense to keep track of changes.

Texting is actually a great way to reach indigent defendants or people without a fixed address, Aissam said, because almost everyone has a cell phone. The company has found that court administrators who use a text system around the country have noticed an 11-15 percent decrease in missed court appearances, the sheriff's office said in a press release.

Getting more people to make their court dates also helps judges with the question of whether to set bail in criminal cases. The cash bail system is being questioned in many states, with California recently abolishing cash bail because those who could not pay bail had to wait in jail – sometimes for months – for their trials.

A bail amount is theoretically set by a judge as a guarantee that the defendant will show up for court. But studies have shown that there are other reasons that people don't make their court dates, such as failing to get off of work or find childcare, forgetting the dates, the length of time (sometimes up to 90 days) between a citation and a court date, and transportation issues. Tests and email reminders have been found to improve court date attendance.

"Sixty percent of people in custody in the U.S. criminal justice system haven't even gone to trial yet," Aissam said. "If people show up for court and don't end up [in pre-trial custody], that saves money. The U.S. court system is absolutely ready for some common-sense technological solutions."

The JeffCo Sheriff's Office will partner with the State Court Administrator’s Office to coordinate the program, the sheriff's office said.

Image via Shutterstock

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