Ashtabula, Ohio, Municipal Court Introduces E-Notifications
Subscribers are immediately notified of their court date and room or any changes, as well as court date reminders seven days and one day in advance.
by Shelley Terry, Star Beacon / July 11, 2019
(TNS) — The Ashtabula, Ohio, Municipal Court will launch a new court date notification service in August to remind citizens of upcoming hearings and other court obligations via email or text messages.
The Municipal Court is participating in a pilot program with eCourt Date and is the first court in Ohio to work with the Florida-based company.
"This is another avenue to ensure the appearance rates, which would limit the issuance of warrants, thereby reducing incarceration for missed hearings," Municipal Judge Laura DiGiacomo said. "This program will allow the court to connect more with the public by reaching out in more technological ways and allowing the public more options to respond."
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Subscribing to notifications for more than one case is allowed, however, it must be done individually for each case. When subscribing to notifications, the subscriber will receive an initial opt-in message. For both email and SMS/text messages, the user must opt in.
Subscribers will receive a message anytime the criminal court date, room or session changes. Once subscribers have opted in for notifications on a court case, they will remain opted in until they opt out.
If a case is closed/disposed and the subscriber has not manually opted out, he or she will remain subscribed to that case, and if it is reopened in the future and the court date/time/session is changed, they will resume getting notifications.
"I am very happy with the prospects of this pilot program and what it may bring to the Ashtabula Municipal Court in the future," DiGiacomo said. "I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the joint efforts of Court Administrator/Clerk of Court Tonja Amato and Civil Department Supervisor/Network Administrator Nick Dearing in acquiring and implementing this program."
For more information on eCourt Date, go to the Municipal Court's Facebook page or website at www.ashtabulamunicipalcourt.com.
©2019 the Star Beacon (Ashtabula, Ohio). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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