This dataset supports measure S.D.4.b, S.D.6 of SD23. The Downtown Austin Community Court (DACC) was established to address quality of life and public order offenses occurring in the downtown Austin area utilizing a restorative justice court model. DACC offers alternatives to fines and fees for defendants to handle their cases such as community service restitution and participation in rehabilitation services. Defendants who reside outside of a 40-mile radius from DACC are offered an opportunity to handle their case through correspondence action, meaning the entire judicial process can be handled through email or postal mail. Correspondence action eliminates an undue burden requiring a defendant to travel back to Austin to appear for their case and it allows for quicker access to court services of Austin residents by reducing the number of individuals required to appear for their case. This measure tracks how many cases involving non-homeless individuals have been handled through correspondence action recorded in the court's case management system. The data source for number and percentage of instances where people access court services other than in person for DACC has a annual range based on fiscal year 2015- first quarter fiscal year 2020. View more details and insights related to this measure on the story page: https://data.austintexas.gov/stories/s/vxci-zmm3

Data source: Data for this measure is collected by DACC staff inputting information from citations issued in DACC’s jurisdiction and from court processes. All data is entered in DACC’s electronic court case management platform.

Calculation S.D.4.b Numerator= number of cases with the correspondence action/Denominator= total number of cases involving non-homeless individuals.

Measure Time Period: Annually (Fiscal Year)

Automated: no

Date of last description update: 4/1/2020