WILLIAMSON CO., Tenn. (WTVF) — Long lines, full parking lots, law clerks working alongside recycle bins, and neighbors waiting years to have their cases heard — that's what's happening inside the Williamson County courthouse, where staff and judges say they need a new space.
A task force now recommends the county spend $17 million to buy the H-G Hill property next to the police department and build a new courthouse.
Judge David Veile's case docket is moving smoothly in Courtroom C, but he and his colleagues say it's one of only two functioning courtrooms in the building — shared among four judges and hundreds of cases on the docket.
"We post the courtroom assignments and I liken it to 'Hunger Games,' figuring out where we're gonna go — and if it's criminal, it has to be in Courtroom C or D because of the holding cells," Veile said.
Judge Deanna Hood has been doubling as a tour guide, hoping to help people better understand that this courthouse is not a place where justice can be done.
"If we had sufficient courtrooms like this, we would not be asking the county for a new courthouse," Hood said.
Population growth in Williamson County has driven a surge in civil cases — and with that, more crime and more divorces flooding the docket.
"You think of the population growth in this county — we've seen those civil cases just rise. It brings more crime, brings more divorces," Hood said.
"It's a very complicated system. It is causing significant delays in getting trial dates because we have to share courtrooms," Hood said.
Law clerks are working in hallways and recycle rooms. Domestic abuse hearings are held in cramped spaces where both sides sit just feet apart. Traffic hearings take hours. For anyone waiting on a divorce decree, those cases may not be heard for years.
"There are days when people are here all day long into the night. They bring their children here. It's not conducive for the public," Hood said.
"That's horrible for the children because they're living in an environment of animosity — but then we have a constitutional right for criminal defendants, who are losing their liberty and sitting in jail because they either can't make bond or they don't have a bond — and they're having to wait," Hood said.
While Hood and Veile say they get the work done and cases heard, they say it's the victims who suffer most when justice is delayed in a cramped courthouse.
"They can't heal until the perpetrator is brought to justice, so the longer that takes, the longer their pain and suffering starts before they can even start the healing process," Hood said.
A special task force voted to recommend the H-G Hill property, which neighbors the Franklin Police Department, as the site for the new county courthouse.
H-G Hill CEO Jimmy Granbery said in a statement:
"The Williamson County Commission's approval of the Columbia Avenue property as the potential home for a new courthouse reflects the county's continued investment in meeting the needs of its growing community. We have long believed this property was well suited for a transformational project, and we are pleased it has the opportunity to become a lasting public asset that will serve Williamson County for decades to come."
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at Amanda.Roberts@NewsChannel5.com
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