Criminal Law Library Blog
QUESTION:
“I am looking for any courts that have a video system that displays the docket or room assignments for patrons of the court. I looking for any specs that you have in place. For instance are you using LCD TV screens or just normal computer screens. Do you have a system that is doing real time updates or do you have set times to up the list? ”
“Do you have a scrolling list or a static display with the screen changing every x seconds?”
RESPONSES:
“We use a bank of 4 32″ LCD monitors in our lobby that display the Name, Case #, Courtroom & Time of all criminal courtroom (5 courtrooms) events for the day via a windows based application using a quad output video card.”
“It was written in house (VB.NET) and displays events for x hours before current and x hours after current (can be changed via configuration screen). Colors are also configurable so each courtroom has its own color. It is also configurable for how long it is active (so monitors go to sleep after hours). The refresh time is also configurable and we have currently have it set for 15 seconds.”
“If the amount of names takes more than the 4 screens can display, it will spill over to next refresh for remainder, and then start from beginning again (we display them alphabetically). The program uses a generic query written against a view on our database server that just returns the name, case #, courtroom, and time needed for the display in case we ever change databases.”
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“…[Our State] does have a system available that displays scrolling court dockets in the lobby of the facility. Various information is available, depending on the type of calendar, including name, case number, judge and room number.
It is scheduled at regular intervals, to accommodate add-on cases. It does not update to remove cases that have been completed; we found that latecomers were better directed to the courtroom to receive information about completed cases rather than asking at the counter.
Two of our 10 districts currently use this feature and others are considering it. They use LCD (not computer) screens.
We also have a system that is designed to display cases that are ready to be called so attorneys, defendants and other interested parties know when to be present. It displays in the courtroom or hallway and in some locations in the holding area of the jail to assist the jail in preparing in custody defendants. It is continually updated to display current information. ”
______________________________________ *Identifying information has been removed from the above responses to preserve confidentiality.