Editorial: Is new site for city court the right move?

Published 6:39 pm Monday, October 30, 2017

The members of the Dalton City Council recently voted to move Municipal Court proceedings to City Hall, a move that will take effect in January.

The main reason for the move is bad acoustics.

Seemingly all parties who have business in Whitfield County Administrative Building 2 at 215 W. King St., where city court is currently held, agree the sound is bad and it’s hard to hear in there. The building is part of the former Community Church of Christ.

Municipal Court Judge Rob Cowan, who requested the new quarters, was being honest when he told councilmembers that “If I can’t hear someone talking to me five feet away to verify they know what they’re doing … then that is not an appropriate place to have court.”

We agree that court proceedings should be held in adequate surroundings. But is City Hall the best venue?

Councilmember Gary Crews, who along with Denise Woods and Tate O’Gwin OK’d the move, brought up an important point — inadequate parking at City Hall.

Two governmental bodies occupy the building on a daily basis, city employees and the central office staff of Dalton Public Schools. And although city court is held one day a week, the number of people who attend, the defendants along with family members, friends and attorneys, could overwhelm the site’s provided parking spaces.

Granted, the three-story public parking deck next to BB&T Bank is nearby, but those who use it who have business at City Hall must cross two intersections going and coming. That could be an inconvenience for those with disabilities. And then there is human nature. As Crews said at the meeting, “Folks will want to park as close as they can for court.”

There is an alternative — courtrooms at the Whitfield County Courthouse. Parking around the courthouse is much more plentiful, and the acoustics in courtrooms are adequate for all proceedings.

Surely schedules could be arranged with Superior Court for city court to use one of the courtrooms one day a week. It’s said that this arrangement isn’t being looked at because Superior Court judges don’t want “their” courtrooms being taken up with other court proceedings.

The courthouse is under the management of and is maintained by the Whitfield County Board of Commissioners; it is they who should have final say in how the courtrooms are used.

The city is already paying the county about $1,000 a month to use the administrative building for court. The same arrangement could be continued if the courthouse was made available.

Councilmember Tyree Goodlett voted against the move. At the time he didn’t offer a reason for his vote, instead, he said he “will make a statement on my city council Facebook page at a later date.”

As of this writing he has yet to post a statement, and we are looking forward to hearing his reasoning.

For now, the deal is done, but perhaps court and city officials will want to revisit this issue a year from now and take another look at the county courtrooms.