SJC Exchange Library

Leadership from Lake County, IL recognize even one night in jail can have disastrous consequences for individuals. After learning that bench warrants for missing court, at a disparate rate, were driving their jail population, they wanted to know more about why people miss court. The leadership team partnered with Justice System Partners to explore this question. 

They interviewed 50 people, most of whom were in-custody for a bench warrant and not a new crime at the time of the interview, and asked them about their challenges to get to court as scheduled. This report details these challenges, how often they experience them, and how they navigate across multiple hearings and multiple cases. Participants also offer their perspectives about the automated court reminder system and virtual court, as well as other recommendations that might help them get to court more easily. 

With these findings, they believe it's time to reframe failure to appear and think more critically about what the court process looks like for individuals who continuously missed court as scheduled.