But only a minority of counties use existing capabilities to send messages automatically
More than 60 percent of Wisconsin circuit courts use text-message reminders to notify criminal defendants of upcoming court dates, according to a Badger Institute survey of county court clerks. The technique won raves from clerks using it, with one calling it a “godsend.”
But most of those send reminder texts only to defendants who sign up for them, rather than doing what researchers tout as a best practice, sending reminders automatically to all who don’t explicitly opt out.
A substantial body of research finds that text reminders increase court appearances, reduce failure-to-appear rates, expedite justice for crime victims, and save courts and law enforcement time and money.
Fourteen clerks surveyed by the Badger Institute indicated that their courts automatically enroll defendants in the text-reminder system, which is a capability they’ve had for about a decade. Another 35 courts use an opt-in system. Some allow defendants to sign up on the court’s website, others have a clerk or judge ask if defendants want to receive text reminders.
Another 19 Wisconsin counties do not use the tool — apparently including Milwaukee County, which offered limited responses to queries. Four clerk of court offices did not respond to the survey.
Many of the Wisconsin clerks who use text reminders say the tool is invaluable.
“It definitely has served its purpose,” says Lisa Roth, Portage County Clerk of Courts. “I could not see ever eliminating the program or going back to the old days. The effort on the front end is very worth the payoff on the back end.”
A 2025 Pew Charitable Trusts policy brief reviewed 12 studies of court text reminders and found that 11 reported higher appearance rates. The studies showed reductions in failure-to-appear rates ranging from 11 percent to 61 percent, with particularly strong results in lower-level cases.
“The evidence is unequivocal,” says Shannon McAuliffe, national director of implementation at (Un)warranted, an initiative of an applied behavioral sciences nonprofit, ideas42, that aims to prevent 500,000 missed court dates over the next five years. “Most people miss court because they forget, especially for lower-level cases.”
She points out that other industries, including doctors, restaurants and airlines, have successfully addressed the problem of forgotten appointments by using text reminders.
She points out that other industries, including doctors, restaurants and airlines, have successfully addressed the problem of forgotten appointments by using text reminders.
“Courts should do the same,” she says. “A simple reminder helps the court and law enforcement avoid all the work required when someone misses court. Fewer failures-to-appear means the system avoids the time and expense resulting from rescheduling, processing, serving and clearing warrants, as well as booking and jailing people for missed court dates. It’s smart government.”
Circuit courts can engage this tool through the Consolidated Court Automation Programs, or CCAP, an online database that provides public information on civil and criminal court records across all 72 Wisconsin counties. CCAP began rolling out text reminder options in 2016.
Waukesha County has been using court text reminders since at least 2018, according to Monica Paz, clerk of the Court of Waukesha County. Every defendant is entered automatically when criminal cases are filed with the court by the district attorney’s office. The cell phone number in the file is entered into the court’s system with the push of a button.
“I think it’s a great feature,” says Paz. “I would say about 80 percent of the people are referring to their cell phones to look at the text messages, so it’s working.”
In the few cases when there is no phone number, the Waukesha court clerks are trained to get one from the documents filed when people post bond or to make a notation in the upcoming hearing documents. Court staff then request that information from the defendant.
Paz is a member of the Criminal Justice Collaboration Council, which looks for ways to improve efficiency within the criminal justice system.
Who benefits from employing court text reminders?
Crime victims: Swifter resolutions of justice for the wrongs they suffered.
Judges: Speedier dockets, less backlogs, increased case resolution.
Court administrators: More efficient operations, faster care resolution, less cases on hold waiting for an appearance.
Court staff: Fewer hearings, less wasted and duplicative effort.
Prosecutors and defenders: More promptly resolved cases, less transferring cases to new lawyers.
Sheriffs: Avoid processing and housing people for missed court dates.
Police: Fewer bench warrants to serve, more time to focus on serious criminal offenses.
Defendants: Avoid warrants, jail time and the chain reaction of potential job loss, housing instability, further system entanglement, etc.
Employers: More reliable staffing and productivity.
Taxpayers: Tax dollars better spent for courts, policing and jails.
“We have found text message reminders have been … a godsend,” she says. “As individuals move, they will rarely update their mailing address, and if they do, there could be a delay in getting it. However, people tend to have the same cell phone number for quite some time.”
Court text reminders don’t just benefit the defendant and the clerk, says Roth. The practice has a number of what she calls “unintended beneficiaries.”
“If you have to reschedule a hearing because your party didn’t show up, that’s more court time on behalf of the judge and all of the judge’s staff, the bailiffs, the clerks,” she says. “Also, if there’s a court-appointed attorney or a public defender, that’s more expense to the taxpayers. And there’s more expense to the taxpayer because you have an officer that may have to go out and arrest someone.”
The Portage County Circuit Court receives the defendant’s phone number when a new criminal complaint is submitted by the district attorney’s office through the Prosecutor Technology for Case Tracking, or PROTECT, system, a custom-developed case management system used by all Wisconsin district attorney offices.
“That interface now sends us the cell phone numbers for defendants,” she says. “That comes into CCAP automatically. We automatically check the box when a new criminal complaint comes over, putting (the defendants) on for text message reminders.”
Reminders have been so effective, courts have expanded them into other areas. Both Portage and Waukesha circuit courts use the reminders with jurors. The Waukesha County court uses them in family cases and to notify people who are late in making a payment.
When bad weather, a sick court official or other circumstances cause the courts to cancel hearings, delay opening or close entirely, the Waukesha court sends a text message to alert anyone who was scheduled to come in that day.
The Dane County Clerk of Courts uses reminders for defendants who choose to opt in, and it has a page on its website where defendants can sign up to receive text notifications.
“I think in general text reminders are helpful,” says Jeff Okazaki, Dane County clerk of court. “When we consider what tools we have available, I would say that the more we can do to support people navigating the court system, the better.”
Okazaki was not working in the clerk’s office when the decision was made to set up an opt-in system. He says the office is now exploring entering phone numbers when people make their initial appearances.
“We have some initial data that seems to back up the fact that text reminders can support better rates of appearance,” he says, adding that the Dane County Community Justice Council is compiling additional data.
“The research is crystal clear,” says McAuliffe. “Reminders will reduce (failure-to-appear instances) by 20 to 40 percent. For every 1,000 FTAs, reminders will result in 200 to 400 less FTAs, 200 to 400 less cases called multiple times during a docket, 200 to 400 less reschedules, and much fewer bench warrants to process, not to mention all the time and effort saved for judges, lawyers and law enforcement.”
Her organization “conservatively” estimates that each missed court date costs the government $1,496 in staff time and other resources. Statewide, that could add up to millions of taxpayer dollars every year.
Beyond dollars and cents are the interests of those victimized by criminals in seeing justice done, and the interest of society in seeing wrongdoing punished.
Then there are the accused. Kelli Thompson, criminal defense attorney and former Wisconsin state public defender, says her clients benefit greatly when they receive reminders from the court.
“People in the criminal justice system are our relatives, they’re our neighbors, they’re like anybody else,” when it comes to needing an occasional reminder of an upcoming appointment, she says. This is particularly true when those facing criminal charges are dealing with other challenging circumstances in their lives.
“Ninety percent of my clients want to make their (court appointments),” she says. “They recognize the issues when they miss their court. Unless they have a really good reason, they’re going to have a warrant out for them. And they have to either be arrested, and then they sit in jail for a couple of days to get a new court date, or they have to post significant cash bail, which they can’t afford.
“Our courts are so backed up right now that when you don’t make that court date, it could set you back, honestly, for months,” Thompson adds. “So, it’s a really big deal to have missed court appearances.”
McAuliffe recommends that courts with opt-in systems consider moving to one that automatically enrolls everyone, allowing for people to opt out.
Research from (Un)warranted found that when the Colorado state court reminder program switched from sign-ups to automatic enrollment, reminders increased 300 percent, from 56,000 to 224,000 in one month. Among defendants receiving reminders in 2025, missed court dates were 34 percent lower than in the overall defendant population.
Wisconsin clerks of court who aren’t interested in adopting text reminders or are straddling the fence should give it serious consideration, says Paz.
“It may be additional work on the forefront, but the benefits that it can save you later on are a lot better and worth the additional time that it takes,” she says.
McAuliffe agrees: “Setting up a reminder system does require some effort. But not having one costs exponentially more, every single day in perpetuity.”
Okazaki notes that while Dane County’s system is not automated, and that it’s the second-largest jurisdiction in Wisconsin, “It’s not a significant burden to manage.”
Michael Jahr is former Vice President at the Badger Institute, current CEO of Jahr Productions, and Producer + Director of Liberty at Stake: The Joshua Glover Story.
Any use or reproduction of Badger Institute articles or photographs requires prior written permission. To request permission to post articles on a website or print copies for distribution, contact Badger Institute Marketing Director Matt Erdman at matt@badgerinstitute.org.
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