Use Cases

From their dashboard, users can upload evidence, such as photos or video, from desktop files or with drag-and-drop functionality. Defendants can also add more information, like a justification for their violation or a rebuttal.  

From their own dashboard, the Judge will be notified that (s)he is assigned your case. They see the same details as you, and all your uploaded evidence. From the same interface, the Judge can leverage the award builder to make a judgement. There is a text box for reasoning, and boxes to fill in the fine and surcharge amounts and the timeframe in which they must be paid.

From there, the Judge can electronically sign the official court order and, with the click of a button, submit the judgement to all parties – including the defendant, law enforcement and any necessary court clerks.

Once the parties have agreed to settle, an auditable settlement builder will be drafted. Each party can add, agree to or reject individual clauses. Once the settlement is agreed to, the claimants and respondents can request the other party electronically sign the agreement. As a security measure, the eSignatures are captured using each individual’s respective account password. They can either enter the password and check the box agreeing to the legally binding claims, or choose to “make more changes” before signing.  

If negotiations don’t seem to be going anywhere, case participants can elect to escalate their case to mediation or arbitration. From the interface, the claimant/respondent can explain the escalation, choose mediation or arbitration, invite preferred meditators/arbitrators to their case, or choose to let the system auto-allocate a list of officials to choose from. From there, the mediator/arbitrator leverages the system to distribute ground rules to the parties, allocate and collect individual questionnaires, view photos or video submitted by the parties, and communicate directly with each participant.  

From their individual dashboards, the claimant, respondent and mediator can manage their areas of the case. The agenda shows tasks due, such as documentation, new or upcoming appointments, new chats and any settlements made. To the right, users can choose to see the case’s audited history, party details or their own private notes. In the upper right-hand corner is a notification bell, which sends texts or emails to respective users reminding them of upcoming payments and fees, appointments, to-do’s, etc. From the mediator’s perspective, the notifications alert him when payments are made, tasks are completed, deadlines are approaching/missed, etc.  

From their dashboard, mediators and arbitrators can swiftly alter between cases and manage respective tasks. The “create new” button provides a drop-down menu with options to assign new tasks, create new appointments, build settlements or establish a new, incoming case. This is also where the neutral official can build and distribute questionnaires and assign ground rules to the parties. The parties then complete their tasks from their own dashboards, and agree to the ground rules. With respect to utmost security, electronic signatures are established by the user keying his/her respective account password.  

Chat groups are also available for time-sensitive communications. The mediator/arbitrator can send messages to all or only select parties. Similar to all of today’s instant messaging platforms, the chat room allows users to call or video conference with individuals or groups. 

With a digital, streamlined check-in process, it’s easy for court staff to stay on top of their workload. This saved time translates into better constituent service and time spent on higher-level initiatives. The same ODR platform pulls from the court’s check-in process to update caseworkers’ digital queues in real-time, allowing them to better manage their meetings and time.  

As mentioned above, the Courts want to help people – not throw them in jail. Increased accessibility for parents means they can easily connect with the court to resolve payment concerns before being summoned to court. With an opportunity for resolution at their fingertips, both show-cause hearings and bench warrants significantly drop.  

Task notifications and shared calendars ensure the defendant stays on course with deadlines and paying their fees. This takes the pressure off legal counsel to continuously remind clients of due dates – lightening the load of prosecutors and public defenders who are then able to focus on higher-priority initiatives and faster case turnaround.

With payment processing always at their fingertips, clients are more likely to pay their fees and fines and are empowered to do so on time. This also means legal counsel and courts can better enforce any fees due upon point of agreement.