NCJ Number
102858
Date Published
1985
Length
58 pages
Annotation
A questionnaire survey and site visits were conducted to document and assess critically the facilities, maintenance costs, and use of jury and nonjury courthouses currently available in Victoria, Australia.
Abstract
Results indicate that few courthouses meet minimal accommodation needs. Further, most of those not meeting standards have no development potential or only limited predictable potential for development. Accommodation space for public and staff spaces and for hearing space is generally substandard. Further, the state of building services and general building security is frequently poor. Heating provisions are usually minimal, and many courthouses have no cooling provisions. In some cases, no hot water is provided, and toilet facilities for public and staff are crude or even nonexistent. Because of scarce capital and the number of courthouses, many of which are used infrequently, emphasis has been on a bandaid approach to maintenance of facilities, and this has led to a general reduction in the quality of the buildings. Tables provide estimates of maintenance and upgrading costs for Victoria's courthouses. Minimum facility standards, the building facility and functional adequacy questionnaires used in the study, and a list of pre-1984 courthouse closures are appended.