JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Individuals using “Track This Case,” a feature of
Case.net, Missouri’s online access to information in the statewide case
management system, now can choose to receive notifications for cases of
interest via text message in addition to e-mail. Missouri is one of the
first states in the country to offer this feature statewide.

The Missouri judiciary’s Track This Case service became a permanent
Case.net feature late last year, providing anyone with a valid e-mail
address with the ability to sign up to receive e-mail notifications when
docket entries are made to designated cases and reminders of upcoming
payments due or court appearances or hearings scheduled. Today, users also
can choose to receive an additional notification via text message.

“The expansion of Track This Case to include text message notifications
affords users another choice of how to consume information about cases they
select to follow,” Patrick Brooks, director of the information technology
services division of the state courts administrator’s office, said. Brooks
noted Track This Case traffic has seen a “significant increase” during the
past four months.

“At the end of last year, 47,000 registered users had submitted
approximately 62,000 case tracking requests,” he said. “Today, more than
65,000 registered users are receiving e-mail notifications derived from
80,000 case tracking requests – a 38-percent increase in registered users
and a 29-percent increase in cases being tracked.”

Gary Lynch, a judge on the Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District,
and chair of the Missouri Court Automation Committee – a statutory
committee that oversees the state’s court technology systems – said,
“Adding text messages in conjunction with e-mails not only will assist the
public directly with their court business, but it also will boost
indirectly the productivity and efficiency of judges, attorneys and court
clerks alike.”

“Timely information is literally being placed at peoples’ fingertips,”
Lynch continued. “Coupling e-mail notifications with the ability to also
receive a text message when a case is updated or in advance of scheduled
hearings and payment due dates will make it virtually effortless to stay on
top of the latest case details, hearings and payments.”

Track This Case text message and e-mail notifications are distributed each
evening and include case updates made before 5 p.m. that day. Individuals
who sign up to receive notifications can expect the notices to include
three key pieces of information: case number, filing date, and a
description of what has been added or updated regarding the case.