Countywide : Court Automates Its Phone System

Motorists can now get information about their traffic citations through a new automated telephone system at Municipal Court in Santa Ana, and they can also pay fines with a credit card by using the phone.

Recorded messages on how to use the new system are available in English and Spanish, 24 hours a day, but information about specific cases can only be obtained during regular business hours, Monday through Saturday.

Central Municipal Court Assistant Executive Officer Robert Gray said it cost the county $78,000 to automate the traffic telephone system in Santa Ana, which will eventually be available in Municipal Court in Laguna Niguel.

“The driving force behind this is to provide better public access to court information,” Gray said. “We already have an automated computer system, and it was just natural to provide an electronic calling door for the public to get information about their cases.”

Currently, there is no charge to use the system, but that will change after June 30, when motorists will have to call a 900 number to access the information, Gray said.

“After July 1, it is our intention to determine what a nominal fee will be to offset the cost of the system and continue providing service to the public,” he said.

In addition to providing information about bail and court dates, the automated system will also allow motorists to sign up for traffic school.

Marilyn Monroe, traffic division manager at South Municipal Court, said automation will be available at the court “in the next month or so.” However, she said that there is not a huge demand for the automated system in South County.

“We don’t receive an inordinate number of phone calls because the courtesy notices we send out appear to do the job just as well. Usually, the only phone calls we get are from people asking for directions to the court,” she said.

The Central Municipal Court’s automated information can be accessed by calling (714) 834-3575. When the South Municipal Court’s automated system is put in place in a few weeks, information can be obtained by calling (714) 472-6900.