Funding Sought for Two Downstate Family Courthouses In Delaware
Tom McParland, Delaware Law Weekly
January 27, 2016
The Delaware judiciary is seeking legislative approval to spend $5 million of its own funds to begin developing new Family Court facilities downstate.
Members of the Joint Committee on Capital Improvement, at the request of the judiciary, last week introduced HB 245, which would allow the judiciary to access the Family Court's appropriated special funds for "preliminary costs associated with land acquisition, planning and design for the facilities" in Kent and Sussex counties.
The bill would also authorize the judiciary to access funds from another account to make capital investments to address ongoing space needs at the New Castle County Courthouse. That money would be spent on "appraisal and purchase of property" in Wilmington, according to the text of the bill.
The $5 million already belongs to the judiciary, and does not represent any appropriation of new funds. Still, the General Assembly must sign off on the request.
The Joint Committee on Capital Improvement, known also as the bond committee, advanced the legislation to the House floor, where a vote was expected to take place this week. If successful, the bill would then move on to a vote before the full Senate within a "couple days," said state Rep. S. Quinton Johnson, D-Middletown.
The legislation was widely seen as noncontroversial and was expected to pass easily before lawmakers break for budget hearings in February.
Delaware Supreme Court Chief Justice Leo E. Strine Jr. has long sought a total overhaul of the buildings in Georgetown and Dover, citing major operational and security concerns. In a November budget request presentation, Strine said the facilities "suffer from serious deficiencies, both from an operational and security standpoint."
In both buildings, inmates are often brought into court through a public lobby or in an elevator also used by the judges presiding over their cases, and the outdated design of the Family Court Sussex County Courthouse means that inmates, judges, staff and the public move through the same space.
"Most troubling is that the inadequacy of these facilities diminishes the perception of justice in those courts," Strine told the Office of Management and Budget in November.
The judiciary received $500,000 in last year's bond bill to get the process moving, but more money would be needed going forward, he said. In addition to the funds already at the judiciary's disposal, Strine is asking for an additional $5 million in capital funds for the upcoming fiscal year to help jumpstart the project.
Strine is also leading the charge in addressing what he called "growing space deficiencies" in the New Castle County Courthouse, which is home to four courts in Wilmington.
Built 15 years ago on a tight budget, the courthouse has become cramped amid rising caseloads and other demands. A 2012 space study of the courthouse identified the need for more space to accommodate the operations of the clerk's office, additional and larger courtrooms and venues for mediation and other methods of alternative dispute resolution.
Officials also hope to move Justice of the Peace Court 20 from its current location in the public safety building on North Walnut Street to the New Castle County Courthouse in an effort to increase efficiency and consolidate services.
"The time is overdue for JP Court 20 to find a new home in Wilmington," Strine said in the budget address, "and combining all of our Wilmington courts into one location, the New Castle County Courthouse, will be the most efficient and cost-effective approach to address this need—and to potentially create an inter-court 'community court' to better serve our litigants." ?