Public Notice Detail

ELK RIVER, MN (Aug. 2, 2001) – A new Sherburne County courtroom featuring state of the art technology will become the first of its kind in Minnesota’s trial courts.  The courtroom’s unique design is expected to save time and increase courtroom efficiency.

“Thanks to the Sherburne County Board, we’re bringing our courtroom technology into the 21st century,” said Judge Alan Pendleton.  “I think a lot of people expect innovations like this to come out of bigger, more urban counties.  But our local officials have shown the foresight necessary to make this up-and-coming county a technology leader.”

The Sherburne County Board recently appropriated $54,300 to pay for the new technology.  Construction is expected to begin in November and will be completed early next year.

According to Judge Pendleton, a fully integrated built-in monitor display system, consisting of 12 television monitors at the judge’s bench, witness stand, jury box, attorneys’ tables, court reporter stations and the audience area will allow court participants to easily view evidence, photographs, videos and computer presentations.

Plans also call for interactive television hookups, which, for example, would allow a child sex victim to testify from outside of the courtroom so the child would not have to face the defendant.  The courtroom’s interactive TV system would also connect with the Sherburne County jail’s video visitation center.  With such a system, an uncooperative or disruptive defendant could participate in trials or other court appearances from the jail via the video visitation system.  The project also equips the courtroom to handle real-time stenography, giving the judge an immediate record of court testimony on his video screen.

The courtroom’s technology is based on a prototype in Judge James Rosenbaum’s federal courtroom in Minneapolis.

“I tried cases as an attorney for 20 years and during that time, I presented hundreds of photographs, videos and other pieces of evidence.  I sometimes spent hours constructing graphs on poster board, setting up VCRs or otherwise preparing to present evidence,” Judge Pendleton said. “As we designed this courtroom, we included technology that I would want to see if I was still trying cases.”

Attorneys will operate the technology from a central evidence cart that will contain an overhead projector, VCR, DVD, audio playback unit and a computer terminal.  The system’s master controls will be located at the judge’s bench.  This would be useful if an attorney wants to introduce evidence to the jury, but the judge must first determine whether the evidence is appropriate.  Using the system’s master controls, the judge can simply turn off the jury monitors while making the decision and alleviate the need to send jurors out of the courtroom.

“This technology will provide attorneys, litigants and the court with tremendous flexibility in how evidence is displayed to a jury and to the court,” Judge Pendleton said.  “The new monitor display system will greatly enhance the court’s efficiency and was designed to be both highly effective and easy to use.  Attorneys or parties with little or no technology experience should have no difficulty in learning to use this system.”

Sherburne County District Court will include the technology in its new courtroom, which was previously included as part of a multiphase remodeling project at the Sherburne County Government Center.  The District Court’s existing three courtrooms are expected to undergo remodeling in a later phase of the project.