NORWICH – Despite two years of renovations and office switches to accommodate the New York’s Sixth Judicial District Court, administrators say more space in the Chenango County Office Building is needed to handle what they say is a “staggering” number of cases in the county, family and surrogate courts.
Last year, there were nearly 4,500 family court matters decided, 3,706 juvenile delinquent probation cases, 145 criminal cases and 619 circuit court cases. The number of juvenile delinquent cases jumped one third from 2008 to 2011.
“I’ve got to tell you, the community uses the court system here. If you look at the numbers, they are staggering,” said Hon. Robert C. Mulvey, administrative judge of the Sixth Judicial District.
Judge Mulvey and his staff asked a committee of county lawmakers Tuesday for a timeline and commitment for granting additional square footage for courtroom space, meeting rooms and lawyers’ and judges’ chambers. They said they would check back with the county in about three months to gauge progress.
“We need additional courtroom space to schedule more cases and move cases along. It will benefit people in Chenango County to have cases heard a little quicker than they have in the past,” he said.
The representatives delivered a formal draft floor plan and a space analysis to county officials in August of 2008. Since then, buildings and grounds workers have supervised the rehabilitation of the former Sheriff’s Office and Jail into new offices for the social services department, as well as moved heavy metal walls and made other renovations on the third floor of the 1960s-era building to accommodate the courts. Court district space has increased from 4,394 to approximately 7,000 square feet.
But it’s not enough, according to state guidelines. Counties have been required to provide office space for the courts since the creation of the unified court system in 1977. In Chenango County, the magic number is 12,100 square feet of space, which is just about what’s available on the third floor. The concern is where to put the District Attorney’s office and Probation Departments, both of which share the third floor.
Security at the County Office Building is also an issue, and not just for the court district. Chenango County Buildings and Grounds Director Julie Gates said a department director found himself confronted by a client who walked freely and unannounced through a back entrance to the building recently. Panic buttons are accessible, and the person pushed it, she said, but the response was only a phone call from the court’s officer asking what was needed.
Karen Ambrozik, district executive, said the way the family courtroom is currently configured prohibits a direct visual of any potentially dangerous individuals approaching. Judge Mulvey said the courts are discovering more weapons than ever before, on persons and in bushes outside of court buildings.
City of Norwich Supervisor Robert Jeffrey suggested hiring a consultant to design an overall engineering plan for the building, one that would cover space issues for the courts and all safety concerns.
Judge Mulvey said space for the court library could be configured into the third floor, freeing up the county from leasing space at the former Masonic Temple across the street. Board Chairman Lawrence Wilcox asked whether the third floor would also be sufficient for Supreme Court Judge Elizabeth Garry, whose office in downtown Norwich is also leased by the county.
“Nothing is off of the table,” said Ambrozik.
Wilcox commented that the court system has “bent over backwards to be a good partner with the county.”
Following the court’s presentation, the Agriculture, Buildings and Grounds Committee went into an executive session to discuss leasing and the possible purchase of a building.