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An increase in the number of felony cases prosecuted, the number of jury trials and the additional personnel needed to handle the workload has the Kosciusko County Justice Building literally bulging at the seams.
David Kolbe, county prosecutor, said today that in 1994, 280 felony cases were filed in the county's circuit and superior courts. In 1995, that number increased to 420 felony cases.
So far this year, 321 felonies have been filed, and Kolbe projected the final number for 1996 to hover around 455-460.
"It's obvious that the courthouse facility is not capable of keeping up," he said.
The numbers Kolbe cited did not include infractions and misdemeanors in County Court, which he estimated at approximately 10,000 per year.
At least eight jury trials are scheduled for October, though Kolbe said many of those may end in plea agreements before the trials.
The courts used up this year's jury trial budget before the end of June, he said, and additional appropriations were granted by the county council to allow for trials the second half of the year.
To help deal with the increased workload on employees in his office, Kolbe said the county recently received a full grant from the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute to fund a second full-time victims' advocate.
Lisa Eckert is currently the county's victim's advocate.
Where additional staff will be housed is the problem, Kolbe said.
"We're all in a dilemma here because everybody's wanting more space," he said, referring to all the offices housed in the Justice Building.
Kolbe said he is working with the county's human resources director, Ron Robinson, on moving the child support office, now located on the second floor of the Justice Building, to an unspecified location so his office can expand into that space.
Kolbe used his press conference as a forum to congratulate Eckert, who is a board member of the Indiana Coalition Against Sexual Assault, for receiving an award from InCASA as one of the top five victims' advocates in Indiana.
"She's there to remind us there are human beings that are suffering from (criminal) activities," he said of Eckert.
Kolbe also announced that from 7 to 9 p.m. Oct. 30 in the Justice Building meeting room Professor Bruce Berner, of Valparaiso School of Law, will hold a seminar on search and seizure issues for law enforcement officers in the county.
