Challenge: How might we help litigants follow through their legal processes?
Concept: An SMS service with notification, RSVP use cases
Client, persona: Court admins and other staff, court litigants
Synopsis
If you miss an appointment, it can have very negative consequences — you can lose your rights, have decisions against you, and get penalized by the judge. This might mean huge fines to pay, losing your kids, losing your house, or having to go back and start the process over again. We went through several design cycles with court professionals and users, and designed a text-based reminder system that would tell people what they’re expected to do, exactly when, where, and what to bring. The goal is to reach people via SMS, so it is more likely they will open and see the information, and also stagger the messages so that people can plan beforehand and gradually get ready for their big day.
Proposed UX
Our Wise Messenger application is a blend of front-facing web application and mobile application.
The Web application lets the administrator use our proposed message content and schedules. We have created many standard templates, based on our design work and testing. The administrator can customize or edit these templates, or create new ones.
Once a link has been set up between the court’s case management system and our application, then court administrators can efficiently set up templates of messages.
For example, they can send automated reminders to all people who have filed for divorce, so that 45 days after filing, 90 days after filing, and 120 days after filing, they receive messages about what they should be doing and how to follow up on the process.
How it works
Existing state of the project
Wise Messenger is currently being piloted with three different courts, for different use cases. In Maryland, we are working with the Office of the Public Defender, to send automated reminders to criminal defendants out on bail — to make sure they come for their hearings and do not endanger their freedom, with a new warrant out for their arrest.
In Florida, we are working with legal service groups to create an RSVP screener for a new ‘mobile lawyer’ clinic. We have been working together with https://the-indexer.com/ to get this application running. We are currently requesting we are assigned extra help for this purpose. In Orange County, California, we are working with the court Self-Help Center to send reminders to all those who have filed for divorce, to follow up on the process.
