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Automated reminders reduce incarceration for missed court dates: Evidence from a text message experiment
Alex Chohlas-Wood1, Madison Coots2, Joe Nudell2
1Applied Statistics, Social Science, and Humanities, New York University, New York, NY 10012, USA.
Science Advances
|October 1, 2025
Summary
Automated text message reminders significantly reduced court appearance failures. This study found a ~20% decrease in warrants and a drop in incarceration for public defender clients receiving reminders.
Area of Science:
- Criminal Justice
- Public Policy
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Millions attend mandatory court dates annually.
- Automated reminders are increasingly used to improve court appearance rates.
- Limited research exists on reminders' impact on downstream arrests and incarceration.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the effectiveness of automated text message reminders on court appearance rates.
- To evaluate the impact of these reminders on subsequent arrests and incarceration.
- To test the hypothesis that memory or comprehension lapses contribute to missed court dates.
Main Methods:
- A randomized controlled trial involving 5709 public defender clients in Santa Clara County.
- Clients were assigned to either receive automated text message reminders (treatment) or not (control).
- Outcomes measured included warrants issued and incarceration due to missed court dates.
Main Results:
- Automated reminders reduced warrants for missed court dates by approximately 20% (12.1% in control vs. 9.7% in treatment).
- Incarceration resulting from missed court dates decreased similarly, from 6.6% in the control group to 5.2% in the treatment group.
- These findings support the role of memory and comprehension in court appearance failures.
Conclusions:
- Automated text message reminders are an effective tool for improving court appearance rates.
- Reminders can mitigate negative downstream consequences such as warrants and incarceration.
- The study supports behavioral theories explaining missed court appearances.
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