No one has a perfect memory, and it’s easy to forget some of the numerous demands that require attention every day. But forgetting a court date can be catastrophic. Even a short stay in jail can lead to job loss, failure to make payments, loss of child custody, or other serious disruptions for individuals and their families.
Often, people miss court appearances simply because they forget, said Alex Chohlas-Wood, assistant professor of computational social science at New York University and co-author of a recent study on whether sending automated text reminders about upcoming court dates could help.
“Someone might have a minor brush with the justice system, make a mistake they regret, receive court obligations, forget to appear, and suddenly find themselves in jail,” Chohlas-Wood told TriplePundit. “That escalation happens very quickly and seems preventable through relatively cheap and effective interventions.”
Every year, millions of Americans are required to appear in front of a judge. It’s often for misdemeanors, which are offenses worse than an infraction — like receiving a traffic ticket or fishing without a license — but not as serious as a felony.
The criminal legal system is often unforgiving to someone who fails to appear on their assigned court date, regardless of why. In almost every state, the judge can tack on penalties like fines or imprisonment. In many states, a judge can also consider the reason a person missed their court date when dolling out those penalties, but they are not required to do so.
To boost appearance rates, various jurisdictions have turned to sending automated text reminders for upcoming court dates, but research on whether it works is limited. So, Chohlas-Wood and his colleagues at Stanford, New York, and Harvard universities developed a software that sends text message reminders to clients of the Santa Clara County Public Defenders Office in San Jose, California, to see for themselves how successful it could be.
Their software’s texts significantly reduced the number of warrants issued and arrests made for failing to appear in court. Each dropped by about 20 percent, according to the study.
“We wanted to look at missed court dates because they represent a situation where the justice system can impose fairly harsh penalties for relatively benign behavior,” Chohlas-Wood said. “Often, the way this is framed in the justice system is through the concept of ‘flight risk,’ with judges worried that people are intentionally fleeing the jurisdiction to avoid court obligations.”
The fact that text message reminders reduced missed court dates in Santa Clara County demonstrates that that’s often not the case.
“The effectiveness of these simple behavioral nudges suggests that forgetfulness or lack of comprehension is an important factor explaining missed court dates,” according to the study. “Our results highlight the value of addressing cognitive and informational barriers to court attendance instead of relying solely on punitive measures to ensure attendance.”
“It’s an opportunity to reduce incarceration without posing significant risks to public safety,” Chohlas-Wood added.
But he cautions that text message reminders alone won’t dramatically change overall incarceration rates in Santa Clara County, as they address just one piece of a much larger puzzle. Nevertheless, the impacts would still be meaningful, even if they don’t dramatically reduce the overall number of incarcerated people, he said.
“Even if it’s a small slice of the pie, easy wins like this should be implemented. In many jurisdictions, the most common warrant issued is a bench warrant for failure to appear,” Chohlas-Wood said. “Preventing even short jail stays can help people avoid losing jobs, childcare or housing. Small interventions can have outsized impacts.”
Looking ahead, the research team is studying how different message tones, like more supportive versus more punitive, affect outcomes. “We’re also exploring reminders sent after someone has already failed to appear, to help them get back on track,” Chohlas-Wood said.
The average marginal cost of the automated text message reminders is 60 cents per defendant per case, according to the study.
“It’s remarkable that spending just a few cents per case can prevent someone from going to jail. That’s not typical in the justice system, where many problems are far more complex,” Chohlas-Wood said. “There’s a straightforward and inexpensive way to prevent outcomes that are extremely costly, both for individuals who end up jailed and for the public paying for incarceration while cases are processed. It really seems like a win for everyone.”
Feature image credit: (Image: Andrej Lišakov/Unsplash)
