New app offers court docket information in real time

By Jackie Valley

Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013 | 5:05 p.m.

A judge’s suggestion served as inspiration for a new smartphone application that gives users real-time court information.

Courtfinder — the app released Tuesday by Clark County District Court — shows updated dockets for courts located at the Regional Justice Center, officials said.

District Judge David Barker proposed building the app after growing accustomed to using apps for other purposes in his life, such as going to the airport. The District Court’s information technology division helped develop Courtfinder.

“This new app will make navigating court schedules much easier and more convenient for attorneys and citizens,” Barker said in a statement.

Users can search the app by party, judge, attorney or case number to find the date, time and courtroom for a particular case — allowing them to forgo looking at court docket monitors in the lobby of the Regional Justice Center, officials said. The app can be downloaded for free from the Google Play and iPhone app stores.

“Getting newly updated court schedule information out in a timely, easily accessible manner has been a long-standing challenge,” District Court Chief Judge Jennifer Togliatti said in a statement. “By using the smartphone technology to get court schedules in users’ hands in real-time, District Court solves the issue. This is a very significant innovation for our court that I expect will be of interest to courts nationwide.”