Baltimore County officials hope a new jury assembly room in the county’s Circuit Court in Towson will make the call to civic duty a bit more comfortable, now that a 10 month, $6.1 million renovation is complete.
County Executive Johnny Olszewski, Sheriff R. Jay Fisher and County Administrative Judge Dennis Robinson, cut the ribbon on the jury assembly room Tuesday. The court summons 395 jurors everyday and calls in 80 to 150 people daily, said county spokeswoman Erica Palmisano.
“We're no longer going to be putting jurors in an outdated room,” said Judge Robinson. “This new space is going to allow us to conduct multiple jury selections at the same time, and it's going to be in a space that is inclusive and also comfortable, at least as comfortable as it can be for jury duty.”
Jurors previously squeezed in makeshift courtrooms at the American Legion Hall, due to space constraints. “We would take 50 people up to a room that was probably designed to hold 30 to 40 and we would have them sit throughout the jury process. It wasn't the best way to do it, but it was the only way,” added Judge Robinson.
The new space features unisex restrooms, lactation rooms, separate elevators for judges, members of the public and criminals and three holding cells. It also has two voir dire rooms. These are sound proof rooms where prospective jurors are questioned privately to see if they can be impartial.
“We're proud of the investment here,” said Olszewski. “It supports one of the most basic tenets of our democracy, and shows our residents that we appreciate their willingness to step up and serve in this capacity.”
