Overview
Problem
The legal system is a maze for defendants
Defendants lack basic case information
of court systems don’t remind defendants of court dates.
of courts that send reminders do so via mail or phone call, not via text message.
Court-appointed attorneys act as guides but are overworked
of court-appointed attorneys have unsustainable caseloads.
avg. time court appointed attorneys are able to spend per misdemeanor case.
Defendants miss court dates and misunderstand terms, leading to lifelong consequences
of states can add charges when defendants miss court hearings.
Hypothesis
Informed defendants will navigate the system more effectively
Qualitative research has demonstrated that defendants are more likely to appear in court when they have higher trust and perceptions of procedural justice and know what to expect.
Ideation
MVP analysis: texting (SMS)
Pros
97% of Americans with mobile phones use texting at least once a day. Getting reminders doesn’t require the defendant to download an app or navigate to a website, decreasing friction.
Text messages have a 98% open rate, much higher than email at 20%. This coupled with frequent usage increases the likelihood that a defendant will read a notification the day it is sent, well before their actual court date.
Text messaging is a well-established medium with low transaction costs. It has relatively low start-up costs and is simple to adjust.
Adjusting and testing different message content is very simple, allowing us to zero in on the most impactful messaging for different types of notifications.
Cons
SMS messages are text-based. Emoticons allow for simple visual expression, but the design flexibility of a web or mobile app allows for more compelling visual storytelling.
The data you can gather from SMS messages are very limited. Even tracking open rates is incredibly challenging and often unreliable.
Recent federal regulation has been introduced to prevent widespread SMS spam campaigns. Each mobile phone provider has varying criteria for different types of messages. Messages that don't meet criteria can be undelivered without warning. We have not encountered deliverability issues so far, but this problem will escalate at scale.
Solution
A texting service that informs defendants of upcoming case actions and helps them navigate the legal process.
Get important case updates sent right to your phone.
Dates and times of court hearings are sent using a recognizable date format. This reduces 🧠 Cognitive Load by allowing users to add events to their calendar in just a few taps.
Defendants are reminded a week, 3 days, and 1 day before court dates, using the 👉Nudge principle to encourage users to prepare for and attend court dates.
Get quick answers to questions about your case from legal professionals.
We’ll use these questions to identify gaps in understanding and inform future iterations.
Defendants have varying degrees of experience navigating the legal system. Flexible interactions provide users with information at the right level of depth. This avoids the 🌩️ Curse of Knowledge, which assumes all users have the same level of understanding.
Court-appointed attorneys, overwhelmed with other cases, often take weeks to respond to a defendant’s questions. Our team is primed to respond to all questions within 2 days. This reliability builds trust with users.
Prepare for upcoming court dates and learn about relevant topics.
These structured prompts mimic navigation on an interface. Engagement with prompts informs future iterations.
Users choose what they want to learn about. These options are structured as open questions, using 💭 Curiosity Gaps to encourage engagement and retention.
Information is spaced to facilitate scanning. We use emojis as visual cues to separate and anchor each point. These are examples of 🍪 Chunking.
Results
Beta testing with 300 defendants
We received funding from the Cuyahoga County Office of Innovation & Performance to test this concept with defendants facing felony charges.
Randomized controlled trial
Defendants get important case notifications and reminders from CourtChat.
Sample size: 150
Defendants don’t receive messages from CourtChat.
Sample size: 150
KPIs
Number of responses to prompts and questions submitted.
Likert scale response (1-4) to the question: "How prepared did you feel for {court date} on {date}?" sent the day after each hearing.
Percentage of defendants who appear for court dates.