Court filings are declining in many jurisdictions. Does that mean future courthouses will need fewer courtrooms?

Not necessarily.

Courtroom utilization analysis can reveal opportunities to reduce construction costs, rightsize courtrooms, and better align courthouse space with current and future operations.

Yet the analysis often encounters resistance before the findings are even presented. That resistance is understandable....

For decades, one of the most common assumptions in courthouse planning has been that every judge requires a dedicated courtroom. While this approach offers operational simplicity, it also drives some of the highest costs in courthouse construction and long-term facility operations.

Ask someone to picture a courthouse, and they'll almost always describe the courtroom. They'll picture a judge on the bench, attorneys presenting their arguments, a witness on the stand, and jurors seated in the jury box. It's understandable. After all, that's where justice is most visible.

The court reporter has been one of the most quietly essential figures in the courtroom. Seated between the judge's bench and the witness stand, they capture every spoken word in real time, producing what becomes the official legal record of the proceeding.

That seat is becoming increasingly empty.