County signs lease for new courtroom site

As active criminal cases in the Thurston County Superior Court nearly double from last year, county officials signed a lease for a site that will serve as an off-site courtroom to help reduce the backlog.

The growing backlog of cases inflated after jury trials were put on hold in March to prevent the spread of COVID-19. When trials resumed in August, only one courtroom in the Thurston County Courthouse was large enough to hold jury trials. Officials quickly realized the need for another courtroom.

Superior Court Administrator Pam Hartman-Beyer said Monday that 972 cases were pending trial in Superior Court. There were roughly 500 cases pending trial the same time last year.

County officials worked to secure a venue that could serve as an off-site courtroom, serving both the superior and district courts. County commissioners recently signed a lease for 2404 Chandler Court SW, said Hartman-Beyer. The large building that was leased is a short distance from the courthouse.

Chris Helmer, the project lead for the site of the new courtroom, didn’t immediately return a phone call from The JOLT News seeking comment.

Hartman-Beyer said the target date for trials to begin in the new venue had been Nov. 1, but now may be mid-November. Initially, funding from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act — which is in-part funding the creation of the new courtroom — had a deadline mandating it be spent by Nov. 1. Now, that deadline has been extended until the end of the year. Additional funding came from the state’s Administrative Office of the Courts. 

Hartman-Beyer said officials want to get the new location up and running as soon as possible so they can start dealing with the large backlog of cases. They’re going to stick as closely to the original Nov. 1 deadline as possible, despite the extended deadline. With trials postponed, some people have been stuck in the Thurston County Jail since March as their cases were put on hold. 

Thurston County Prosecutor Jon Tunheim mentioned the new courtroom in a recent interview with The JOLT News, where he noted the difficulties in conducting trials during a pandemic. The new room should allow for comfortable social distancing, said Tunheim. 

The one courtroom in the courthouse being used for trials wasn’t designed with social distancing in mind. Following a recent trial, Tunheim said prosecutor’s office staff spoke of the logistical difficulties of conducting a trial with new safety measures in place. Only five jurors could sit in the jury box and the rest were seated throughout the room. Attorneys had to move where they typically work in the room. Evidence had to be printed out on paper and handed out to each juror rather than be shown on a projector.

When the jury moves out of the room to deliberate the case, they can’t use the deliberation rooms because the rooms aren’t big enough for social distancing. Instead, they have to gather in a different courtroom.

“It was full of logistical challenges,” Tunheim said.