Baltimore City Circuit Courts
The Baltimore City Circuit Court operates in the Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr. Courthouse and Courthouse East in downtown Baltimore, Maryland. These courthouses hold the criminal, civil and family courts for the state’s 8th Judicial District. While both courthouses are historic, the Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr. Courthouse is a point of pride for the Circuit Court. With its granite foundation, mosaic flooring, domed skylights and marble walls, the courthouse stands as a model of Renaissance Revival architecture. In 2007, the Circuit Court sought an electronic solution to replace the paper dockets posted in its two downtown locations. This traditional method of displaying case information was no longer effective at guiding visitors through the courthouses, often resulting in missed appointments and staff interruptions. However, the Circuit Court needed a solution that would effectively guide visitors without compromising the aesthetic of these historical buildings. After proposing an electronic docket display solution designed to preserve the architecture of both courthouses, Infax was selected for the job.
Infax provided and installed its DocketCall® solution on three monitors at both of the Baltimore City Circuit Court locations. DocketCall integrates with the Circuit Court’s case management system to automatically display real-time case information. If a change needs to be made to the docket, authorized court personnel can log in to the user interface and enter in the change to automatically update the public displays. To preserve the historic nature of the courthouses during the installation, Infax mounted each monitor over an existing chalkboard to protect the marble walls.
In 2016, the Baltimore City Circuit Court contacted Infax to upgrade its existing DocketCall system. The DocketCall upgrade included a name range indicator, color pallet customization on the display and a rotating message bar at the bottom of each monitor. Also included in this upgrade was the Infax Engage software, a content-creating digital signage program. Engage allows authorized users to create and display digital directories, welcome messages, wayfinding maps and more on monitors in the courthouses. On days with less visitor traffic, the Circuit Court can utilize Engage to display important information and messages to patrons.
Infax worked with structures that were already in place to help the Circuit Court achieve its digital signage goals without compromising architectural integrity. The docket monitors are sleek, modern additions to these otherwise grand and historical courthouses. With the help of DocketCall and Engage, Baltimore City Circuit Court is now better equipped to manage traffic and display information throughout its facilities for the visiting public to see. In addition, court personnel are able to spend more time at their jobs instead of stopping to give patrons directions or reprinting the docket every time a change is made.
