Citizens looking for their courtrooms in the County-City Building will have an easier time of it starting Friday, Dec. 7.
New public access monitors located in the first- and second-floor lobbies will display the name of parties scheduled to appear in county and city courtrooms along with the hearing times and locations.
Confidential cases will also appear but with a case number instead of name of party.
“Courtrooms are located on most floors of the building, and finding the correct courtroom can be a challenge,” said Andra Motyka, Pierce County Superior Court administrator.
“That is especially true with three court systems operating in the building.”
In addition to Superior Court, Pierce County District Court One and Tacoma Municipal Court are housed in the CCB located at 930 Tacoma Ave. S. The presiding judges for the three courts will participate in a brief “turn on the monitors” ceremony at 8:45 a.m. Friday, Dec. 7 in the first-floor lobby.
The monitors are similar to those used in airports to display arriving and departing flights.
“We have been working on this project for several months in a true spirit of cooperation,” Motyka said.
“We believe this new service will be extremely helpful to the public and that it will enhance access to justice.”
The presiding judges and court administrators for the three courts started working on the project shortly after creating the Pierce County Trial Court Coordinating Council in February.
The project team included Judge Thomas Felnagle and Motyka from Superior Court, Judge Jack Nevin and administrator Mike Kilborn from District Court One, and Judge A. J. (Jack) Emery and administrator Tony Susinski from Municipal Court.
The team worked with Pierce County Information Services to set up the system for $18,000.
“We had been quoted $122,000 by an outside vendor, so we are pleased to have accomplished the work in-house for a fraction of that amount,” Judge Nevin said.