SB 394: Require courts to supply electronic notification of hearings

136th General Assembly
Regular Session
Senator Blessing

Section 1.

(A) (1) The administrative director of the
supreme court shall develop, make available, and require each
clerk of courts for every municipal, county, and common pleas
court to employ a court reminder program that allows the court
to send a text or electronic mail message to notify all criminal
and traffic defendants of scheduled court appearances. The
program shall be made available to every court at no cost to the
court. The purposes of the program shall include:

1. Reducing costs associated with defendants who fail to
   appear for a scheduled court appearance:
2. Improving the efficiency of courts:
3. Reminding criminal defendants to appear at each
   scheduled court appearance:
4. Reducing the number of criminal defendants who are
   admitted to and confined in a county jail solely due to the
   defendant's failure to appear for a scheduled court appearance.

The program shall do all of the following:

1. Comply with applicable state and federal laws
   requiring the consent of an individual before sending a reminder
   by text message;
2. Provide three text or electronic mail reminders before
   each court appearance, with at least one message sent the day
   before the court appearance;
3. Use plain language that includes, at a minimum, the
   date and time of appearance, court name and address,
   consequences for nonappearance, and contact information for
   questions relating to the appearance;
4. Allow for the defendant to select the language in
   which the reminders will be sent;
5. For court appearances that can be attended virtually,
   provide the link to the virtual court appearance in at least the
   final reminder sent before the appearance;
6. Provide at least one text or electronic mail notice
   within one day after any missed court appearance, to notify the
   defendant how to resolve the missed appearance, including how to
   remove a warrant if one has been issued.

Each court, as part of the program, shall do all of
the following:

1. Establish procedures for court personnel to confirm or
   update text or electronic mail contact information at each court
   appearance;
2. Document each occurrence of a criminal defendant receiving a text or electronic mail message reminder:
3. Identify criminal defendants with scheduled court appearances who lack access to devices with the technological capability of receiving text or electronic mail messages:
4. Document the number of criminal defendants who fail to appear at scheduled court appearances after being sent one or more text or electronic mail message reminders:
5. Include the technological capability to provide additional information to criminal defendants concerning scheduled court appearances including, but not limited to, the location of the court appearance, available transportation options, court closures or changes in court dates, procedures for defendants who are unable to attend court appearances, and instructions about how to resolve a missed appearance and any resulting warrant:
6. Automatically enroll all defendants to receive text or electronic mail message reminders for each court appearance, if the defendant has provided information for receiving text or electronic mail messages, and with all messages providing defendants with the option to opt-out of receiving reminders:
7. Partner with local law enforcement agencies, local governments, and local public defenders to ensure that the intake processes or forms relating to a defendant's court appearance include fields to record the person's telephone number and electronic mail contact information, and that law enforcement, corrections, and court staff are educated, trained, and required to secure and convey that information to the court reminder program:
8. Provide one or more publicly available internet web
   sites through which eligible criminal and traffic defendants may
   request text or electronic mail reminders;
9. Record the average amount of days in between a warrant
   being issued for a failure to appear and the warrant being
   removed, if applicable;
10. Collect data concerning the number of the following:
1. Defendants eligible for the court reminder program;
2. Defendants who provide an electronic mail or cellular
   telephone number upon arrest or citation;
3. Defendants successfully enrolled with electronic mail
   or cellular telephone contact information in the court reminder
   program;
4. Reminders sent, by electronic mail and by text
   message;
5. Messages successfully delivered, by electronic mail
   and by text message;
6. Times a defendant did not appear at a scheduled court
   appearance and whether a non-appearing defendant was sent
   reminders by electronic mail and by text message, and if so, how
   many reminders were sent to that defendant;
7. Defendants who opt out of receiving reminders;
11. Transmit the data collected under division (B) (10) of
    this section to the administrative director of the supreme court
    for publication by the supreme court.

Section 2.

Section 3.

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AUTOMATED COURT APPEARANCE REMINDER PROGRAM

Section 4.