When someone in the community is charged with a crime, the Mirror publishes a story detailing who the person is and what crime was allegedly committed.

But after those initial reports, what happens to the court cases?

Several people have contacted me in the past few months, inquiring about “whatever happened with this case” and “was he or she sentenced yet?”

The answer is, our staff is following these cases — closely. Each week, our staff pulls out our list of court case numbers and checks the status of each case in the court system. Most cases will go through several hearings before a trial is set.

Some cases seem to drag on forever.

Take Gregory Reed Summers, for example, who was charged in March 2013 with a felony sex crime. Last November, the state Department of Health suspended the chiropractor’s medical license.

After several continued court hearings, a judge set Summers trial date for Jan. 8. Or so we thought.

But his trial was pushed forward. Our case log indicates that his next hearing is scheduled for April 18, with a potential trial date of May 7.

This date could change again, depending on whether Summers’s attorney or the prosecutor needs more time to compile legal details. In the meantime, our staff will keep monitoring the case and let residents know when there is new information to report, or when the trial date is set, hopefully the next time for good.

Others have inquired about former Federal Way school board president Tony Moore’s case. Moore was indicted in Oregon on seven counts of felony theft last September. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 10 years in prison.

His case is more complicated to cover, as it is playing out in the Multnomah County Courthouse in Oregon. Due to budget cuts, the courthouse there has only limited hours when our staff can speak with a court clerk. Multnomah also doesn’t keep online court records, like King County does.

Nevertheless, our staff has been following this case closely as well. In fact, Moore’s next hearing, known as a status check, happens on Friday, April 11. If the judge determines that the court will have a judge and jury available, Moore’s trial could begin this Monday.

Stay tuned for coverage of that trial, and others, as our staff wades through the legal proceedings.