DALLAS (CN) - Dallas County's inability to display docket information at courthouses has resulted in criminal defendants getting lost, failing to appear in court and having warrants issued against them and then recalled, according to the Dallas county clerk.
Dallas County Clerk John Warren told the Commissioners Court he could fix the problem with $8,500.
In a Briefing Agenda to the for today's meeting of the Commissioners Court, Warren wrote: For many years, we have had the issue of providing court docket information for litigants in the criminal courts. As a result of the inability to display court docket information, some defendants have been lost or failed to appear and has resulted in a warrant being issued[.] (T)his has also caused the judge in the criminal courts to recall the warrant. It has created additional work for both the clerk's staff as well as that of the judge.
"All is a direct result of the defendant not being able to easily find the court to which they are to appear."
As a solution, Warren asked the commission for permission to spend $8,500 on digital court docket displays that will show party names and hearing information.
"Collin, Travis and Harris counties have implemented the use of digital displays of court information which have produced positive results," Warren said.
Texas counties' commissioners courts are not actually courts: they are the equivalent of other states' county commissions.
Follow @davejourno
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