Live Chat and Self-Scheduling Tools for District Court

About the Program

Category: Criminal Justice and Public Safety (Best in Category)

Year: 2014

The mission of Pierce County’s District Court is to resolve legal cases in a fair and timely manner. However, budget cuts and the closure of a branch court have made it difficult for court staff to accomplish this. The answer: create Web self-service tools that provide the public with near instant access to Court services. Live Chat allows court customers to get individualized help online, while also letting clerks serve more than one customer at a time. The traffic infractions self-scheduling tool has also been quite popular. The tool allows defendants to select a date and time for their in-court hearing that best fits their schedule. This reduces the number of defendants who fail to appear, as well as reduces staff time spent re-scheduling hearings. Pierce County is one of the first courts of limited jurisdiction in the Northwest – if not the country – to offer these online services. These tools allow District Court to quickly serve customers with existing resources and increase public confidence.