Las Vegas Township Justice Court Ends Waiting In Line

“Skip The Line, Live Your Life" By Paying Traffic Tickets By Phone or Internet

Las Vegas, NV -- April 4, 2007

FAST FACTS

"Virtual Court" model vastly improves customer service.
Skip to the Front of the Line.
Phone or web access cuts wait times from 20 minutes to less than 5 minutes.
In March 2007, Traffic Court collects record $3.1 million in payments by web and phone.

More than 19,000 people routinely stand in line to process traffic tickets in the Las Vegas Township Justice Court. With the addition of phone and internet fine processing, people waiting to pay a traffic ticket can skip to the front of the line. Roughly 220,000 traffic tickets are processed by the Las Vegas Justice Court each year.

Customers calling (702) 671-3444 can use the IVR phone system to process a payment in roughly three minutes. Internet access can be obtained at http://www.clarkcountycourts.us. The effort is part of the court's 'Virtual Court' model to allow customers access to court services from anywhere.

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Las Vegas Township Justice Court

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PRESS RELEASE

LAS VEGAS – The Las Vegas Township Justice Court collected $3.1 million in March from customers willing to skip the line and pay their traffic tickets by phone or Internet.

“When this system went on line, we anticipated it would quickly become a popular way to take care of traffic fines,” said Chief Judge Douglas E. Smith.

The integrated voice response system took its first phone call following a $250,000 investment in May 2006. The telephone system allows individuals to quickly make full payments, partial payments or schedule a new court date. It also will take a person out of warrant status. Most phone calls only take approximately five minutes to complete. In August 2006, the court added Spanish-language support and the system was expanded to allow individuals to process tickets using the Internet in October.

“It is not often that you can pay back your initial investment in four months and at the same time improve customer service, but our court has done it,” said Judge Smith. “Paying traffic tickets by phone not only serves customers better but it is benefiting the court and taxpayers. It’s very exciting.”

The phone and Internet system make up the backbone of the court's "Virtual Court" model introduced last year. "A virtual court allows you to access the court from anywhere," said Court Executive Officer Chuck Short. "Whether you are in Las Vegas or Hong Kong, you shouldn't have to wait to take care of a traffic ticket or look up a document. It just makes sense."

Roughly 220,000 traffic tickets are processed by the Las Vegas Justice Court each year. Customers can go to the front of the traffic ticket line by dialing (702) 671-3444 or by linking to http://www.clarkcountycourts.us.

MULTIMEDIA ELEMENTS

QUOTES

Attributable to Chief Judge Douglas E. Smith, Las Vegas Township Justice Court
(Click here for Judge Douglas E. Smith's profile)

"The phone system prompts users to make full payments, partial payments or schedule a new court date. It also can take a person out of warrant. But most importantly, it speeds up the process, ends confusion and frustration and brings our court some needed improvement in the realm of customer service."
"By utilizing technology tools we hope to make it possible for a person to wait in line only if they choose to."

Attributable to Clark County Manager Virginia Valentine, Clark County, Nevada
(Click here for Virginia Valentine's profile)

"Clark County has invested heavily in information technology to bring systems to our residents that improves their experience with county government. This example shows how that investment is paying off in dividends for our community."

Attributable to Clark County Courts Court Executive Officer Charles J. Short

"The Virtual Court allows customers to acccess court documents and conduct business from anywhere in the world."

Please contact Michael Sommermeyer to arrange an interview and/or for additional quotes.

About the Las Vegas Township Justice Court

The Las Vegas Justice Court is a court of limited jurisdiction responsible for criminal, civil, and traffic matters within the Las Vegas Township. The court currently has ten (10) elected Justices of the Peace serving 6-year terms as set forth in the Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS).

The court administers criminal probable cause reviews, felony and misdemeanor arraignments and preliminary hearings, and trials for misdemeanor and traffic cases. The court's civil jurisdiction includes amounts up to $10,000.00, small claim cases up to $5,000.00, and landlord/tenant eviction proceedings. The court's Traffic Office is responsible for citation violations issued by law enforcement agencies in the Las Vegas Township, and outside the City of Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, or the City of Henderson.

For more information, visit http://www.clarkcountycourts.us.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Douglas E. Smith (Spokesperson)
Las Vegas Township Justice Court
Chief Judge
200 Lewis Avenue
Las Vegas, NV 89101
702.671.3353 (office)
Email: smd@co.clark.nv.us
Web Site: http://www.clarkcountycourts.us
Michael Sommermeyer (Spokesperson)
Clark County Courts
Court Information Officer
702.671.4534 (office)
702.249.3472 (cell)
Email: sommerm@co.clark.nv.us
Web Site: http://www.clarkcountycourts.us/
Blog: http://lvcourtsblog.com/