Lagniappe: 3 More Useful Features Every Court Website Should Add Before Launch

Last week, I wrote about the “Top 5 Features Every Court Website Needs Before Launch.” Hopefully, you have purchased a site and are on your way to building an amazing website. If you are a Judge or court administrator, please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. I am happy to help you get your court site launched by the end of the year. In the meantime, here are 3 more features that you should consider adding to your website. These additional features are extremely useful and ones that folks use over and over again.

By the way, I have yet to spend an additional dollar of your $1000/yr budget.

Feature #1: FAQ Page

Every jurisdiction has a set of unique questions that is asked of it on a daily basis. While you are building your website and collecting everyone’s contact information, just ask your team what those questions are. Once you have identified the top 10 questions, write them out and answer them on a FAQ webpage. Your phone calls will cut in half.

Feature #2: Attorney Sign-In Sheet

With the increased use of video court, it has become difficult for the Court to determine who is present and for what case. When everyone is physically in the courthouse, lawyers sign in on a piece of paper or check in with the clerk before the hearing. But there is no piece of paper online and some still can’t figure out how to name their devices properly so the Court has to sift through the virtual waiting room to see who is present and for what case. “Scott’s iPhone” is not helpful.

To solve this problem, create a webpage with a form that requires the parties to answer a few questions (name, case no., party represented, email & phone number) before they join virtual court. This information can be automatically emailed to you, stored in an online drive or sent to a Slack/Teams channel immediately. It’s up to you. Once the form is built, simply add the particular link to a button on each individual Judge’s page. (This was the first iteration. My sign-in sheet is now fully integrated with my clerk of court’s e-filing system so I can see who has signed in on the actual digital docket.)

Feature #3: Hidden Webpages — “Apps”

This is one of my favorite features as a specialty court judge. It is critical that participants in specialty courts have access to information they need to succeed.

There are plenty of supervision apps out there but most are too expensive for State Courts. So we have built an “app” for each program by creating separate webpages that are not publicly available under the menu but available if you know the path. These pages are saved to the home screens of every participant and contain the names and phone numbers of everyone they may need to contact; PD, PO, counselor, etc. These webpages also contain links to critical documents, virtual court, online calendars of counselors, job boards, local health services, and much more. We have even embedded a 24/7 chat feature with live counselors. (This is a local service that already existed in our community so we made it more accessible).

A great court website is the foundation from which you can continue to build a more efficient & effective justice system.