Law enforcementiPads allow judges to sign warrants anywhere

iPad enables judges to receive and sign warrants anywhere, anytime // Source: ljworld.com

Getting local judges to sign last minute warrants just got a lot easier with iPads.

In his sixteen year career, Robert Fairchild, a district judge in Douglas County, Kansas, has had to sign warrants in nearly every restaurant in town as well as some roadside convenience stores. But now with a $4.99 app for the iPad, Fairchild and other district judges can review warrants and signthem electronically.

This newfound ability has helped speed procedures and minimize late-night disruptions, especially given the county’s crackdown on drunk drivers.

In the last year and a half, county prosecutors have taken a hard line against drunk drivers who refuse to submit to tests. All local law enforcement agents when they pull over a drunk driver have been ordered to conduct blood tests, which require a search warrant, on those who refuse to take other tests. As a result, judges have increasingly been forced to wake up late at night to sign warrants.

“They arrive at our house between 2 and 4 AM.,” Fairchild said, “because that’s when most of them occur.”

Adding to the logistical challenges, police officers would have to have another officer watch the suspect while they went to the judge’s home or even bring the driver to the judge’s neighborhood.

Now, instead of travelling to a judge’s home, police officers can simply handle all of the paperwork via their iPads.

“It’s been great, and it worked even better than we thought it would,” Fairchild said.

Fairchild said the iPads have also been helpful on weekends when judges are on call and have to review recent arrests and set bond amounts.

“All of the judges thought it was cool,” he said. “All of us figured it out easily.”

Each of the county’s six judges now has an iPad, which cost roughly $700 per unit. In addition, the iPads came with the app Good Reader installed which allows officials to sign and type on documents.