Enhanced tech, security, court operations on display at Community Justice Campus

The timeline for moving more than 200 employees and court personnel to Indianapolis’ new Marion County Community Justice Campus has yet to be nailed down, but Marion Superior Court Judge Amy Jones told members of the media during an one-time tour of the sleek new facility on Friday that a date will hopefully be set in the next two weeks.

The courts had planned to move at the end of 2021 or early 2022, with the main courthouse later re-scheduled to move forward the first week of February 2022 and conclude by the end of that month. COVID-delays changed those plans. 

“Training has been a big part of getting our staff up and ready to go, as well as the lawyers who practice in our courts every day and getting them ready to go as well,” Jones said. “So we’re close on getting the date, we’re not quite there yet but things are moving along pretty well.”

Jones, accompanied by Marion Superior Court Judge Marc Rothenberg and court administrator Emily VanOsdol, gave the tour of the modern 11-story structure mostly made of concrete and glass.

The building will serve as home to Marion County Courts, housing a whopping 71-courtrooms to share between 37 superior and circuit court judges, as well as 45 magistrate judges.

The facility is paired with modern light fixtures, floor to ceiling windows, stone furnishing set against soft blues and creams.

Judges showcased the state-of-the-art technology present in the new facility that visitors will see as soon as they walk through the front doors. Airport-like kiosks are located inside the main lobby of the building and at every elevator bank to help visitors know exactly where they need to be and when.

“You can search by name, it’ll tell you the courtroom that you’re going to for that day, it can provide you directions on how to get to the courtroom, what floor it’s located on, it could even text you that information you have on your phone and provide you directions to navigate the building,” Jones said. “We’ve really tried to make it very user-friendly as possible so people can navigate the building.”

Large screens on the wall above the kiosks and outside of courtrooms will also display court schedules for the day – alphabetical by case name, what courtroom the proceeding will be held in and what time.

If the technology is too confusing or visitors want to talk to a real person, they can go through security and speak to individuals at the information desk located in front of the Marion County Clerk’s Office.

Payments and other functions of the clerk’s office will take place at the new facility, but the clerk of court will also continue to maintain a physical footprint in the downtown City-County Building, Jones said.

For the first time ever, all of the Marion Superior Court operations will be consolidated in one location. Additionally, judges will not have claim to any specific courtrooms. Instead, there will be a collegial floor that houses offices for all of the judges.

Courtrooms will be assigned based on the number of participants and type of case. For example, Jones said the courtrooms equipped to handle jury trials would be randomly assigned as needed.

“You’re not going to be using that same space every day,” she said. “But you are going to have a home base to run your normal calendars out of.”

The first three floors of the main building will be considered the family division. Floors four, five six and seven will mostly house criminal case proceedings. Civil cases will be heard on floors eight and nine.

The campus’ largest courtroom sits at 2,200 square feet, equipped with surround sound, up-to-date digital evidence presentation technology and intentionally selected furniture to ensure judicial fairness.

Each juror will also have his or her own screen installed into the jury box to look at evidence. Similar technology will be available in the smaller courtrooms.

In addition to the courts, the campus will include the new Marion County Jail, the Marion County Public Defender Agency, Marion County Probation Department and a new Youth and Family Services Center.

Other unique features of the building include a grab-and-go snack bar for visitors, private lactation rooms for nursing moms and a legal resource center for pro se litigants. Private workrooms will also be available for reservation by attorneys, members of the media and others.

The main facility will also offer three separate pathways dedicated specifically for the public, judges and staff and inmates for enhanced security for all court users.

Every room also houses an emergency notifications screen to accompany the buildings alarms, which will clearly spell out what sort of incidence is taking place – fire, tornado, etc. – and direct court users on what to do next.

Security cameras are installed in each room and linked to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office in case of an emergency.

Editor’s note: This story has been corrected to reflect the correct spelling of Judge Marc Rothenberg’s name.