JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Missouri judiciary’s increasingly popular “Track This Case” feature has been approved as a permanent feature of Case.net, Missouri’s online access to information in the statewide case management system. Launched as a pilot in November 2015, Track This Case – which allows anyone with a valid e-mail address to sign up for an e-mail notification service that enables users to track cases of interest – boasts more than 50,000 registered users to date.
The feature “puts the power of finding information about a legal case in the public’s palm,” explained Patrick Brooks, director of the information technology services division of the state courts administrator’s office.
“Track This Case, which was developed to provide a timely, convenient public service, allows individuals to receive e-mail notification when docket entries are added or updated on cases the user can see on Case.net, excluding those handled in the Fine Collection Center,” Brooks said. “The feature is not only being used by the public, but it’s also being utilized by judges, attorneys and court clerks as a mechanism to gather information about selected cases easily and quickly.”
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 and that approved Track This Case as a permanent feature – believes this particular function increases the efficiency and effectiveness of day-to-day court business.
“It’s an immense time-saver to get e-mails sent to me alerting me about actions in cases I choose to track,” Lynch said. “Before the introduction of Track This Case, I kept up with cases by repeatedly manually looking them up to check for new activity.”
Since Track This Case was introduced, the number of individuals receiving e-mail notifications has increased steadily, with an average of 4,100 new people tracking cases each month. And the feature has been improved as a result of the pilot.
Last week, two additional e-mail notification options were added to Track This Case. Along with signing up to track docket entries made in a case, users now can request to be alerted via e-mail when:
- A scheduled event, such as a court appearance or hearing, pertaining to a case he or she selected to track is either 10 or two days away; or
- A payment due date is two days away.
Track This Case e-mail notifications are distributed once per day in the evening, and include information about cases that were updated before 5 p.m. that day. Individuals who sign up to receive e-mail 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. E-mail notifications also give participants an option to stop tracking either one particular case or all cases.
For assistance in using Track This Case, visit the online how-to page or contact the state courts administrator’s office help desk toll-free at (888) 541-4894 or by e-mail at OSCA.Help.Desk@courts.mo.gov.
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