Computer experts on Wednesday updated a problematic software system that has failed to notify some accused criminals of upcoming court dates, but other glitches remain, officials say.
"We've had an enormous amount of problems," Tarrant County Judge Cheril Hardy said.
Hardy said she's noticed a surprisingly high number of defendants recently missing required court appearances.
"I'm just seeing it from a different position being on the bench and having half of a courtroom full and wondering where all these people are," she said. "That's just totally unusual."
When people don't show up, the judge said she has no choice but to revoke their bond and issue an arrest warrant.
"That is a serious issue," she said. "You don't want to ever put a person in jail unless they have actually intentionally done something."
The county is upgrading its old computer software developed in the 1970s, and by all accounts the switchover isn't going well.
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Some defense attorneys complained they were not notified about court hearings.
"Without giving a notice to the citizen accused or the lawyer, how are they supposed to expect us to appear?" asked defense attorney Mimi Coffey.
She said the new system isn't sending out notices she used to get routinely.
"It has gone from bad to worse," she said. "My office is getting zero faxes and I am getting zero emails."
Tarrant County District Court Clerk Tom Wilder said some progress is being made, but a long list of bugs remain to be fixed.
"Any system you put in always seems to have problems," Wilder said. "These were a little more widespread than we had hoped for."
County officials are holding weekly meetings to address ongoing issues, he said.
"I think we continue to think the solution will be tomorrow or soon," Hardy said. "It hasn't happened yet but it doesn't mean it won't."
Criminal Courts Administrator Greg Shugart said notices of court dates are being emailed, but couldn't explain why some attorneys like Coffey said they aren't receiving them.
"We believe the system is currently sending out notices," Shugart said.
He added other fixes are being addressed.
The Tarrant County District Attorney's office has also experienced problems with the new system, spokeswoman Samantha Jordan said.
The program, called TechShare, is being developed in Austin by the Texas Conference of Urban Counties.
