MACON, Ga. — Macon-Bibb County commissioners are set to vote Tuesday on funding for courtrooms at the Macon Mall.
It may seem like an unconventional idea, but sometimes, unconventional ideas can help solve bigger problems. Mayor Lester Miller hopes to fix some pandemic-related problems at the courthouse Tuesday with approval of two new courtrooms. They'd be at the Macon Mall.
"I called the mayor," said Bibb County Chief Judge Howard Simms, "Talked to him about finding some other location for us, and through trial and error, we sort of came up with this idea of putting these courtrooms out at the mall."
Simms says the pandemic created a few problems, all stemming from a lack of space for social distancing.
"We have a serious backlog of cases, civil cases as well as criminal and some hearings," Mayor Miller said.
Simms says for a while, there weren't jury cases at all. There were more problems when they came back.
"We had some issues with distancing people, we had jurors who were sitting in chairs out on the floor, that sort of stuff," Simms said.
He hopes the mall will provide more space.
"Those courtrooms are much easier to fit people in," Simms explained, "Or they will be. Let's put it that way."
They new courtrooms would also act as overflow to chip away at the backlog. Miller says they wouldn't just serve the court. They would serve the community too.
"It gives opportunities for several of our high schools to practice their moot court teams. We have a law academy at Southwest can come there to participate, to brush up on their skills for the law academy," Miller said.
The mayor also says they'll serve as multipurpose rooms to settle corporate disputes.
Simms says jury selection will still happen at the courthouse, but if you're selected to serve, you could be assigned to a mall courtroom.
Miller says if the commission approves the courtrooms, work would start within the next month.