Mobile Apps and e-Alerts: Taking Technology a Step Further

Jon A. GegenheimerJefferson Parish Clerk of Court

Jefferson Parish, Louisiana

Image courtesy Wikipedia.org

The first smartphone—Simon by IBM, distributed by BellSouth

Information and unrestricted ability any time…any where…

Society has embraced technology that promotes freedom from conventional tools used to access sources of news and data.

Image courtesy Wikipedia.org

One third of all Americans now have smartphone technology that affords access to mobile apps that

perform a wide range of functions: tools, information, entertainment, and much more!

The clerk of court app was developed and implemented in only 3 months.

Users have options from which to

choose to access information about elections and the clerk of court’s

office.

All information available via the clerk’s Internet web site may be

accessed through the app on any

hand-held device.

Users may search for election data

by date, candidate name, or

office/proposition.

Clean streamlined buttons provide for

easy selection of options.

Here, user selects date of the

election they wish to research. Results are

available back to 2002.

After selecting the date, a list of offices and

propositions appears.

Information that users seek appears

in bold print, complete with

candidate name, number of votes, percent of votes,

voter turnout, and total votes cast.

A map of the results may be selected here.

The map viewer provides a legend and precinct-level map of

Jefferson Parish.

As results are entered on election night,

precincts are colored for the candidate

receiving a plurality of votes. Users may

easily determine which precincts have

reported.

Users then may select individual

precincts for information about the lead candidate and location of the

precinct.

Back to the search options: Users may search for election data by date, candidate

name, or office/proposition.

If a user knows a candidate name, but not the office

he or she is seeking, one may enter the name, then select the

date of the election.

Example: Adams, a Louisiana House

candidate. The user may not recall which district seat

Adams is seeking.

Other features include a list of polling places,

easy access to the clerk’s web site,

information about the clerk of court,

and access to maps of voting

districts.

Attorneys’ Toolbox App

Attorneys’ staff regularly phone

the clerk of court’s office for fees,

forms, directions, and other info.

Attorneys are businessmen, and seek to be more productive and,

thus, more profitable.

The Docket Calendar helps

attorneys calculate how much time to

allocate for a courthouse

proceeding.

Attorneys may retrieve the docket calendars for the district court and Jefferson Parish’s courts of limited

jurisdiction.

The district court has 16 divisions.

Users may retrieve the docket for a

particular division or all of them.

Division A is selected here.

Then a date is selected.

Search has revealed 0

criminal and 8 civil items on docket for Division A for

May 24, 2012.

A step further, users may view

details of the items on the docket.

Case number, title, type, and

description of docket activity are

provided.

Another example, this one a traffic

matter.

Attorneys’ Toolbox App

Jefferson Parish’s courts are located

in multiple facilities in the

area. Smartphone users often utilize GPS and mapping software to locate businesses, and now government

offices.

Users are linked in to Google Maps for ease in obtaining driving directions.

Forms for the various clerk of

court divisions are provided for convenience.

A step further, users select from a list of forms that they may review,

print, or in conjunction with other apps, save

and edit.

In Questions and Feedback, users

may submit contact

information and questions and

comments.

JeffClerk Alerts

E-Mail notifications of criminal and civil case activity and election results reporting.

Subscribers to the alert system may receive e-mail alerts any time, anywhere, on any

device capable of receiving e-mail.

The alert provides case number, division, and title and the purpose for the e-mail alert.

This alert is for a filing of a Motion for Final Dismissal. The user learns that the dismissal

was granted.

This is an example of an alert indicating that multiple documents were filed.

It may take 24-48 hours for the signed judgment to be imaged. Once the image is available, the subscriber gets a follow-up e-mail. If they subscribe to the clerk’s remote access service, they then may retrieve the

image.

Election alerts contain the office title or

proposition description, number of

precincts reporting, candidate name, votes counted, and turnout.

The e-mail also provides a list of precincts with a

notation by the ones which have reported.

www.jpclerkofcourt.us

Jon A. GegenheimerJefferson Parish Clerk of Court

(504) 364-2914jgegenheimer@jpclerkofcourt.us