About 9,500 notices for people to appear in the Delaware Court of Common Pleas between June 1 and Oct. 3 were never mailed, according to the court system.

The issue, which was first realized when the Court of Common Pleas and the Judicial Information Center began receiving complaints in mid-September, has affected about 20 percent of the 46,000 criminal notices sent out during this same time period. Some attorneys in Sussex County alerted the court to the problem after they failed to receive notification about their clients' court dates, said Court of Common Pleas Court Administrator Stephanie Fitzgerald.

But the state's Department of Technology and Information, which handles the processing and mailing of these notices, still hasn't determined what caused the problem, according to the state. There's also a chance that the issue may extend before June 1, Fitzgerald said, but the state is continuing to investigate the issue.

Part of the problem was that technology at the Court of Common Pleas indicated the notifications were being mailed, she said.

Since Oct. 3, extra steps were put in place to ensure all mailings were sent, she added, and the investigation into the cause of the issue remains ongoing.

The major problem with the malfunction is what can happen when a person fails to appear in court, like a case being dismissed if the person called to court is a witness or the issuing of an arrest warrant for the person who failed to appear. Driver's licenses may also have been suspended, as a result.

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After reviewing a "very large portion" of the cases, the Court of Common Pleas has no indication that anyone was wrongfully incarcerated as a result of the notification malfunction, Fitzgerald said.

In response, the court said it will withdraw any warrants for arrest issued in response to a failure to appear in court and reschedule the case instead. The Court of Common Pleas will also refund any capias fee for those who may have paid the fine but were never notified of their requirement to appear in court.

"We're still analyzing what the potential impact may be" on the court system, Fitzgerald said.

To help combat the issue, the state set up a website – de.gov/notice – to help people determine if their cases were impacted.

Delawareans can leave their contact information through an online form available on the court's website, and the court system said that staff will "advise you and the Attorney General's Office if your case was affected."

Contact Brittany Horn at (302) 324-2771 or bhorn@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter at @brittanyhorn.