Data-Driven Courthouses: Leveraging Analytics for Smarter Design

When visitors walk into a new courthouse, they often notice the grand lobby, the flood of natural light, or the sense of civic dignity that the architecture conveys. What they don’t see is the data analysis that shaped every square foot of that space.

Beneath the marble floors and glass atriums are detailed spreadsheets analyzing demographic, economic, and law enforcement trends, along with caseload projections, staffing models, and courtroom utilization. Each design decision—from the number of courtrooms to the size of the clerk’s office—is rooted in analytics that ensure the building functions as efficiently as it looks impressive. 

In courthouse planning, data isn’t just a step in the process—it’s the foundation for smarter, more sustainable design. Let’s explore some of the key analytics that guide how modern courthouses are planned.

Understanding Trends that Impact Court Workload

To accurately understand courthouse demand, we analyze demographic, economic, and geographic trends that reveal how workload patterns are likely to shift over time.

Demographic trends provide important insight into workload. While population does not necessarily correlate to caseload, we often see larger caseloads in court jurisdictions with large and growing populations. 

We also analyze population by age, which can reveal how shifts in community composition translate into different types of court activity. For instance, a growing concentration of residents aged 18–30 can correlate with higher volumes of criminal, misdemeanor, and traffic-related cases, as well as increased demand for public defender services. In contrast, an expanding population aged 55–70 may correspond with rising civil caseloads such as probate, estate planning, property disputes, and contractual litigation.

Studying a court jurisdiction’s economic indicators can be equally valuable. Tracking employment trends and industry performance can help anticipate shifts in civil caseload. For example, we’ve worked with courts where rapid expansion in tech or innovation-based industries leads to more intellectual property disputes, employment contracts, non-compete cases, and data privacy litigation. Jurisdictions expanding in healthcare, including assisted living and eldercare, often see higher volumes of medical malpractice, guardianship, and conservatorship filings.

Geographic factors reveal the spatial dynamics behind the numbers. Major transportation corridors, airports, seaports, or military installations can all shape regional activity—influencing not only case volume but also where and how services are accessed. 

Law enforcement trends and justice system initiatives can have a significant impact on court workload. For instance, the expansion of diversion programs designed to redirect low-level offenders away from the criminal justice system can lead to a noticeable reduction in court filings, particularly for misdemeanors and minor infractions. Conversely, a focused enforcement initiative—such as targeting high-crime areas for proactive policing—can increase filings in those jurisdictions, creating additional demand on the courthouse and personnel.

Forecasting Caseload and Personnel

After examining the trends that influence court workload, we collect and analyze historical and current workload data from all courthouse components to understand workload demands. Using this information, we create projections of future workload for each component, taking into account demographic, economic, and geographic trends. It’s a best practice to project workload at least 20 years into the future. 

We also gather historical and current personnel and judgeship data from each court component and develop projections for the number of judges and personnel required to handle future workload. 

After developing projections for workload and personnel, we meet with representatives from all courthouse components to gather their rich qualitative input on the projections. We have found this to be an imperative step because the “boots on the ground” personnel have deep insight into factors that could impact projections. For example, they may know that there’s a new housing development expected to significantly increase filings, retirements or new hires that could affect case processing capacity, or the introduction of new technology or case management systems that might streamline certain tasks and reduce workload in specific areas.

In one recent project, we worked with a court experiencing rapid population growth in the northeastern portion of its jurisdiction along the Atlantic coast—an area expanding quickly due to new resort and retirement communities. Through meetings with court stakeholders, we learned that law enforcement agencies were increasing their staffing levels in the region, which in turn was driving a rise in prosecutions. The prosecutor’s office was also preparing to fill several vacant attorney positions, further signaling increased case filings.

Using this information, we collaborated with the court to produce workload and personnel projections that reallocated resources from slower-growing regions within the jurisdiction to this emerging activity center, ensuring that judicial capacity, staffing, and facility planning remained aligned with where the demand was actually growing.

Measuring Courtroom Utilization to Drive Smarter Design Decisions

Courtroom utilization studies are one of the most revealing tools in courthouse planning. They go beyond simply counting how many courtrooms exist to measure how often, how long, and how efficiently courtrooms are actually used. By analyzing scheduling data, in-session hours, changeover times, and idle periods, we can uncover patterns that traditional metrics overlook—such as underused afternoons, overlapping dockets, or the growing share of virtual hearings reducing in-person demand. 

We conduct courtroom utilization studies to optimize the number and type of courtrooms in new courthouses or to determine if courtroom sharing would be appropriate in existing courthouses. 

In several courts, our utilization studies uncovered more courtroom capacity than needed—opening the door to smarter scheduling, shared use, and space consolidation. With these insights, courts can design right-sized courthouses that streamline operations and lower both construction and long-term costs without compromising functionality.

Final Thoughts

Designing courthouses is not just about delivering a grand public building—it’s about creating a right-sized facility that meets the functional needs of the court and supports efficient operations. By using analytics to guide decision-making, we move from building for possible demand to building for actual demand. Data-driven insights ensure that every square foot serves a purpose, every layout supports workflow, and every design decision contributes to a courthouse that is efficient, adaptable, and built to serve the community for decades to come.