Van Zandt County commissioners authorized the county judge to sign a contract for Gardify, a cloud-based, CJIS‑compliant evidence and discovery platform, for use by the district attorney's office and partner agencies.

The district attorney told the court Gardify can accept many types of video formats and other evidentiary items from different agencies and secure them in the cloud, reducing the need for physical discs and thumb drives. He said Gardify would speed the discovery process by allowing defense counsel to be granted secure, time-limited access to materials online. "It appears in the cloud. We get notifications, and then we can process it from there," the DA said.

The DA presented pricing: Gardify's normal price is about $18,000 per year for unlimited storage and cases, with a promotional first-year rate in the $12,000 range; he said he would pay the first year from his forfeiture account and planned to include the service in next year's DA budget for ongoing funding. The DA said other counties and local Child Advocacy Centers use Gardify and that the product is CJIS compliant.

Commissioners approved the purchase by voice vote. The DA said any law-enforcement agency that works with the DA would receive portal access so they can upload evidence directly, which the DA described as reducing administrative burdens and the risk of lost physical media.