Strangé Simon, 25, stands outside a courthouse on April 16, 2019 in Richmond, Va. Simon attended a recent hearing in her marijuana possession case. Simon said receiving text reminders from the public defender's office stopped her from showing up for court on the wrong day. On any given day, up to half of defendants fail to show up for their scheduled proceedings. No-shows cost the courts time and money, and can cost defendants their freedom.
"If you're hustling and you don't know how you're going to pay your rent and looking for a job and wondering where you are going to get food, kind of the last thing on your mind is your court date," Paner said."If we can help with that, that's easy for us." Some texts also include customized messages reminding people to seek time off from work, arrange for child care and figure out how they will get to court.In New York City, researchers who studied a pilot program found that from March 2016 to June 2017 text messages that combined information on planning, what to expect and the consequences of not going to court led to a 26% drop in the number of no-shows.
In Arizona, after court administrators started a pilot program last year, the text reminders for criminal court hearings helped reduce the number of failure-to-appear warrants issued in Scottsdale Municipal Court by 51.9% during its first three months. Uptrust charges an initial fee of $10,000 to $20,000 and a $2 fee for each person who receives text reminders.
In Spokane, Wash., public defenders began using use a texting system in September, not only for court date reminders but also to let defendants know there's a daycare facility inside the courthouse where their children can stay while they're in court.
Are they giving free phones to people that don't have them?
lol
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