Mark Webber | The Republic Space is tight at the temporary juvenile courtroom at the Bartholomew County Court Services building.
Bartholomew Circuit Court staff have moved to a new location in the Court Services building at 555 First St. and are adjusting to a more limited space as the county courthouse renovation continues.
Circuit Judge Kelly Benjamin, Juvenile Justice Magistrate Brittney Long and staff from both offices will be working from the Court Services building for about a year, alongside probation, Community Corrections and other personnel.
The move was necessary due to this year’s $3.28 million upgrade of the 150-year-old courthouse. Crews will extensively upgrade plumbing, replace 72,000 feet of data cables, install new carpeting, renovate lighting and make other improvements within the historic building.
Once upgrades and renovations are completed in the Circuit Court and Juvenile Court offices at the courthouse, both Benjamin and Long will stay right where they are. The staff from Superior Court 1 and Superior Court 2 will move into the Circuit Court and Juvenile Court offices while work is underway in their respective work spaces.
It is only after all the work in the courthouse is completed a year from now that the judges and their staff will be allowed to return to their permanent offices.
“Is it inconvenient? Yes,” Benjamin admitted. “But is it working the best it can? Absolutely.”
Since work crews are currently in the basement, Bartholomew County Prosecutor Lindsey Holden-Kay has up to four staff members currently using the second-floor Circuit Court space, the judge said. But whenever Circuit Court has a hearing on a high-profile case, the deputy attorneys step aside to allow Benjamin to conduct it in her usual courtroom, she said.
There are still a few unresolved problems. One is the very limited space within Long’s temporary courtroom, Benjamin said.
“Sometimes, we can’t get as many people in there as we would like,” Benjamin said. “That’s really cramped.”
The judge also says she’s not sure if a jury trial can be conducted in the Court Services building. But Benjamin says she feels confident that either Superior Court 1 Judge James Worton or Superior Court 2 Judge Jon Rohde will allow her to use their courtrooms if necessary.
There are six staff members working for Benjamin and Long, but the small space they occupy only has enough room for four desks. In response, employees rotate working from home or perform their jobs in the temporary courtroom.
Deputies from the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department have made a number of changes to secure prisoners brought into the building for court hearings.
The actual move in mid-March was something everyone feared to a small degree, because nobody knew exactly how it was going to work out, the Circuit Court judge said.
“But in the end, it went very smoothly,” Benjamin said. “I was up and running quicker than I thought I could be.”
Court officials credited extensive planning by county maintenance supervisor Rick Trimpe and county information technology manager Scott Mayes for the smoother-than-expected transition.
For those with business coming up with either Benjamin’s or Long’s court, notices will be placed on the Circuit and Juvenile Court pages located on the Bartholomew County website. Those notices will state where hearings will be held.
Printing is also being placed at the bottom of court orders that urge individuals to check the website at bartholomew.in.gov.
