Case Study: City of Alvin, Texas eliminates 800-case backlog and cuts failure-to-appear rate by 60% with Tyler Technologies' Tyler Virtual Court

Alvin cleared backlog of 800 cases, reduced FTA rate, and saved thousands

Alvin Municipal Court in Alvin, Texas—a city of more than 26,000—manages roughly 5,000 cases a year with four full-time staff. When the pandemic forced the court to suspend in-person hearings, the city faced a backlog of more than 800 cases and needed a disaster-resilient way to keep court operations running amid frequent Gulf Coast storms and floods.

The court deployed Tyler Virtual Court (AWS-hosted) in under 24 hours and used its direct integration with the existing case management system to process cases and update records in real time. The move enabled remote work, public docket broadcasts, and a full shift to virtual hearings, eliminating the 800-case backlog, cutting failure-to-appear rates by 60%, reducing case resets, and saving the city thousands of dollars annually (about $1,200 in the first months).

City of Alvin, Texas

Sonya Cates

Court Administrator