Chapter 4: Courtrooms
should not be included in the USBC
courtroom. If jury facilities within close
proximity are not available to the USBC,
jury facilities must be provided.
Soundlocks
Every courtroom must have a soundlock entry from the public lobby/circulation
area of approximately 80 NSF (7.4 Nm2). The judges' entry in USCA courtrooms
must also have a soundlock.
Considerations for Determining the Number of
Courtrooms
The following policy statement, adopted by the Judicial Conference of the United
States, encourages courts to take several factors into account when considering the
construction of additional courtrooms:
Recognizing how essential the availability of a courtroom is to the
fulfillment of the judge's responsibility to serve the public by disposing of
criminal trials, sentencing, and civil cases in a fair and expeditious
manner, and presiding over the wide range of activities that take place in
courtrooms requiring the presence of a judicial officer, the Judicial
Conference adopts the following policy for determining the number of
courtrooms needed at a facility:
With regard to district judges, one courtroom must be provided for each
active judge. In addition, with regard to senior judges who do not draw a
caseload requiring substantial use of a courtroom, and visiting judges,
judicial councils should utilize the following factors, as well as other
appropriate factors, in evaluating the number of courtrooms at a facility
necessary to permit them to discharge their responsibilities.
12/19/97
4-43
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