[ad_1]
RICHMOND, Go. – C u at the court.
The country's courts are adopting SMS to encourage people to come to court.
Each day, up to half of the defendants do not show up at the scheduled hearing. Absences cost courts time and money and may cost the accused their freedom.
Public advocates and court administrators use text reminders in more than a dozen states, including Virginia, California, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Florida, and Washington.
Richmond public defender Tracy Paner said the reminders had helped her clients, who often struggled with poverty and a chaotic family life, and coped with the consequences of an arrest. Missing a hearing date may prompt a judge to issue an arrest warrant, which may result in a summons or arrest, fines and even a term of imprisonment.
"If you hurry up and do not know how you will pay your rent, look for a job and ask where you are going to find food, the last thing you think is your date of hearing," said Paner. . "If we can help with that, it's easy for us."
In Richmond and Petersburg, the Virginia Indigent Defense Commission used a grant to set up a pilot program. The commission has a contract with Uptrust, a San Francisco-based company, whose software integrates with the public defender's business management software to access names, cell phone numbers, phone numbers, and more. 39, hearing and other information to track cases.
The Uptrust software sets a schedule of reminders for each defendant and automatically sends texts on those dates. Messages are usually sent 10 days, one week and one day before a scheduled hearing.
Some texts also include personalized messages reminding people to take time off work, to organize the custody of their children and to determine how they will appear in court.
One of the main goals is to reduce failure rates in appearance.
In New York, researchers who have studied a pilot program found that between March 2016 and June 2017, texting combining information about the planning, expectations and consequences of the lack of recourse to courts have resulted in a 26% drop in the number of non-citizens. shows.
Some courts initially used SMS to remind people to run for jury, said Bill Raftery, senior badyst at the National Center for State Courts.
After the police shot Michael Brown in 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri, an investigation by the Justice Department drew attention to the practice of imposing fines and other penalties on those who failed to do so. to appear in court, even for minor traffic charges.
"There was then this idea that the court itself should warn the defendant directly, and one of the ways to do it was to use a known mechanism, the person's cell phone," he said. Raftery.
In Arizona, after court administrators launched a pilot program last year, text reminders for criminal court hearings reduced the number of warrants issued by the court by 51.9 percent. Scottsdale Municipal Council during its first three months.
"We do not want a person to show up and lose that time," said David Byers, director of the Arizona Courts Administration Office. "It's an attempt to fix it without the consequences resulting in a complete disaster for someone."
In Contra Costa, California, public defenders began using text reminders in 2016. Judicial data indicates that more than half of the minor defendants did not appear at the hearing.
"For people who have a job and who are difficult to reach, or people under 25, sending SMS is the best way to reach them," said Blanca Hernandez, deputy defender of Contra Costa County.
Uptrust charges an initial fee of $ 10,000 to $ 20,000 and a $ 2 fee for each person who receives SMS reminders.
A text from the Richmond Public Defender's office recently prevented Strange Simon, 25, from missing his court's hearing on a charge of possession of marijuana.
"I thought my appointment was on the 20th, but it was the 16th," Simon said. "When I got the text, I was like, oh, my God, I'm happy because I did not know it at first."
In Spokane, Washington, public defenders began using a text messaging system in September, not only to recall the date of the hearing, but also to inform the defendants that it was There is a daycare in the courthouse where their children can stay.
Thomas Krzyminski, director of the office of Spokane County Public Defender, said he appreciated the fact that the system also allows defendants to send questions to their lawyers via SMS.
"Customers will say:" I have not heard enough from my lawyer, I did not know what was happening, it's a very simple way to keep in touch, "Krzyminski said. .
Cherise Fanno Burdeen, Executive Director of the Pretrial Justice Institute, said that the use of text-based reminders was part of a broader effort to reform bail and other elements of the system. may be too punitive for those charged but not yet convicted.
"Court reminders alone can help some people, but court reminders need to be part of a holistic vision of how we interact with people," she said.
[ad_2]
Source link
