GOLDEN — Jefferson County could get up to 12 more judges in the next 22 years, but those judges need more courtrooms and the county is considering ways to accommodate them.
Already, one county judge, Jack DeVita, and his staff practically wear roller skates to travel each week to a different venue because of the courtroom shortage.
When two new judges stepped up to the bench in July, a new courtroom was carved out of existing space in the Jefferson County Courts and Administration Facility, known to locals as the Taj Mahal for its dome and opulent materials.
Despite that addition, two of the 30 current judges and magistrates will have to roam like DeVita since there are only 28 courtrooms.
Having a room designated for each judge is about more than having personal artwork on the walls.
“It’s the most efficient way of conducting business,” said District Court Judge Christopher Munch.
DeVita’s clerks, Brenda Valdez and Nicole Cappelletty, now must roll cartloads of files and supplies to a different courtroom each week.
“It’s also difficult for the public, since they are trying to figure out where to go,” DeVita said, “with some showing up late — or they go to the wrong courtroom.”
To prevent having more itinerant judges — three are scheduled to arrive in July 2009 — the remodeling discussion is gaining urgency.
“We really do have to ask our staff and our architects to put every option on the table,” Commissioner Kathy Hartman said.
Two short-term plans revealed recently call for remodeling the court wing into two courtrooms and a hearing room or three hearing rooms.
The work would mean moving some functions from the courts wing of the building to its administrative wing and moving departments such as information technology and the public trustee to other buildings.
Curt Fentress, who designed the domed landmark, estimated the work would take eight months.
Either approach, said Chief Judge Brooke Jackson, “is something we can live with for three more judges. I think that will last us for a while.”
But officials also have to think about the long term. Estimates call for a total of 42 judges and magistrates by 2030, based on projected population growth and caseload increases.
Jackson said those caseload projections are too high. He says he has a “gut feeling” that 38 judicial positions will be enough.
District Judge Jack Berryhill agreed, saying his caseload has gone down in the eight years he’s been on the bench.
Hartman said that population estimates showing 100,000 more people living in Jeffco by 2030 also are too high.
And, Hartman said, taxpayers aren’t keen about approving dollars for future projects.
“A lot of dynamics in the future skew this whole thing,” said District Attorney Scott Storey, such as e-filing of cases, more mediations and digital recordkeeping.
Several long-term scenarios call for the 15-year-old building — built for $90 million and due to be paid off this year — to be expanded.
Building 10 new courtrooms on the courts wing — two on each floor with secure jail access — would cost at least $50 million.
Also on the table is an option to turn the “Taj” into a justice center, with the district attorney’s office moving in and space remodeled for courtrooms. The administrative departments currently in the building would move elsewhere — perhaps to the DA’s building not far away.
Ann Schrader: 303-278-3217 or aschrader@denverpost.com
