By Lauren Dorsey, Staff Writer
Amid the substantial renovations slated to begin later this year at the Windsor District Courthouse in White River Junction, Windsor County’s criminal hearings will be moving to Woodstock. The relocation, which could last 12-18 months according to state court administrator Teri Corsones, will necessitate significant security upgrades to Woodstock’s Windsor County Courthouse and at least eight new reserved parking spaces behind the building.
The remainder of the county’s hearings will be redistributed between a swing space across the street from the White River Junction courthouse and a conference room in Woodstock’s Windsor County Building, which currently houses the Windsor County Sheriff’s Department.
Woodstock’s courthouse is currently used for civil and probate hearings, but, as part of the temporary reorganization, some of those proceedings may move to one of the other swing spaces.
While the shuffling is significant, many of the court’s daily operations can now be held remotely. “One of the silver linings of the pandemic, if you will, is that each and every one of our courtrooms is now equipped for remote hearing capabilities, which gives us a lot more flexibility than we had prior,” said Corsones.
As a result, it’s difficult to estimate how much new traffic the reorganization will bring to town. “I don’t know how the physical traffic will compare because we’re shifting some divisions [currently held in Woodstock] to different locations,” said Corsones. “It would also be easier to estimate if everything were in person, but [with virtual and hybrid hearings] it’s hard to know.” Windsor County Sheriff Ryan Palmer agrees, saying, “There may be a slight increase, but I don’t know that it’s going to have a significant impact on anything.”
Woodstock’s courthouse was selected for the county’s criminal hearings in part because the space can accommodate jury trials. “A jury trial courtroom is different from a non-jury trial courtroom because you have the jury panels section,” said Corsones. “Most of the jury trials in Vermont are criminal jury trials. They’re very frequent in the criminal division.”
Because the Windsor County Courthouse has not been used for criminal cases in several years, the building requires significant security upgrades before it can accommodate them. “There’s different security [requirements for] criminal cases whether it’s a holding cell or a confidential room where that person can be with their attorney,” said Corsones.
Holding criminal trials in Woodstock will also require more law enforcement. “We’ll increase our presence at the courthouse pretty significantly,” said Palmer. “Essentially, we’re transitioning bodies from White River to Woodstock.”
In anticipation of the move, Woodstock’s Village Trustees have begun negotiations with the state to reserve additional parking spaces for the courthouse in the Village. “We’re offering them eight spaces, in addition to what the courthouse currently has,” said Jeffrey Kahn, vice chair of the Village Trustees. “All of the spaces are in the lot behind the courthouse. We’re not offering any others, and we’re offering them at a rate that we are in the midst of negotiating.”
Right now, two of the spaces under negotiation are permitted employee parking, which will be moved to Merchant Street. The remainder have traditionally been open to the public. “We are going to lose a little bit of public parking there,” said Kahn. “It will be difficult at times, like when the courts are in session with jurors and more meters are occupied, but I don’t know any way around that. I’m hoping the construction in White River will happen as quickly as possible.”
The timing of the relocation of the criminal division is wholly dependent on the upgrades in Woodstock. “The move of the criminal division to Woodstock from White River will not take place until the Woodstock courthouse security measures have been implemented,” said Corsones. While Corsones estimates that the move could begin as soon as early May, a firm date has not yet been set.
The roughly $7.8 million renovations in White River Junction will touch almost every part of the existing building. “When possible, we prefer not to move people, but it is unavoidable when working on major systems or when the construction noise would be disruptive to the proceedings,” said Kate Eberle, the director of communications and legislative affairs at the Department of Buildings and General Services. “In this case, the building is small and the renovations are extensive. We will be opening up walls and ceilings throughout the building and using heavy equipment that would make it extremely difficult to carry on business as usual.”
The renovations were originally planned to begin several years ago but they were repeatedly passed over in favor of more urgent projects. “[Now] the systems are nearing end of life and it’s important to get the renovations done so court proceedings aren’t interrupted by unanticipated outages,” said Eberle.
In addition to replacing existing infrastructure, the construction will also focus on increasing the building’s energy efficiency and stabilizing the riverbank along the Connecticut River.
While the renovations take place, Corsones urges everyone to double check their hearing locations and reach out to the Windsor County Courthouse to ensure they get to the appropriate location. “It involves a lot of logistical planning in terms of ensuring that when hearings are scheduled, it’s clear where they’re being held and when, but that’s what’s needed when a courthouse has to be closed down for any length of time,” said Corsones. “Our website — vermontjudiciary.org — is probably the most complete way to access [that information] but people can also call the courthouse.”