One of the most important questions in courthouse planning is also one of the most difficult to answer:

How many courtrooms should a courthouse contain?

It is a familiar scene in many older courthouses. Just outside a courtroom door, an attorney leans in close to a client, speaking in hushed tones while people stream past. Another attorney is doing the same thing a few feet away. Conversations overlap, and sensitive details are exchanged within...

 It started with a contradiction.

Over the past two decades, one fast-growing county where we were engaged to perform court planning had added tens of thousands of residents. As part of our work, we examined the trends shaping the courts and the broader community. New subdivisions replaced open...

A person arrives at the courthouse early, having taken unpaid time off for a hearing expected to be brief. As the morning unfolds, small delays quietly stack up—information moves slowly between offices, schedules drift, and no one can say exactly when the case will be called. When the matter...

Parking is one of the most common—and most contentious—issues raised during courthouse planning. Judges, jurors, staff, and the public experience parking very differently, but one thing is consistent: when parking does not work, it quickly becomes a visible symbol of operational inefficiency and...