Background: Before the 1960's, when constitutional amendments reformed the North Carolina court system, counties and municipalities had responsibility to fund most areas of court operations, as well as provide court facilities. Article IV of the N.C. Constitution now makes court operations the fiscal and administrative responsibility of the state, but counties have the duty to provide an adequate court facility.
In Re Alamance County Court Facilities, 329 N.C. 84 (1991); G.S. 7A-300; G.S. 7A-302. The duty to provide and maintain adequate facilities is the major court-related fiscal responsibility retained by counties. (With the approval of the AOC Director, and after consultation with county and municipal authorities, a municipality may also provide courtrooms and related facilities.)
Facilities Fees: To assist counties in meeting this duty, a portion of court costs collected in each case, called the facilities fee, is remitted to the county or municipality that provided the facility. In FY 2004-05, the State paid over $21 million in facilities fees -- $20.6 million to counties and $0.6 million ($594,651) to municipalities. By statute, G.S. 7A-304(a)(2), funds derived from the facilities fee are to be used exclusively for "providing, maintaining, and constructing adequate courtroom and related judicial facilities, including"
- adequate space and furniture for judges, district attorneys, public defenders, other personnel of the Office of Indigent Defense, magistrates, juries and other court related personnel;
- office space, furniture and vaults for the clerk;
- jail and juvenile detention facilities;
- free parking for jurors;
- a law library (including books), if one has been established or if the governing body decides to establish one.
Although a county does not need the AOC's approval before expending facilities fees for those purposes, the AOC reviews annual reports received from counties indicating the amount of facilities fees received and itemizing all expenses paid for with facilities fees. The purpose of this review is to ensure that facilities fees are being used for purposes permitted under the statute. If a county has any doubt about whether or not an expenditure would be proper under the statute, the AOC should be consulted.
In most counties, in most years, revenues from the facilities fee are not enough to cover all of what a county must spend to provide and maintain an adequate facility, and funds from the county's general fund are needed as well. If there is any excess in the revnues from facilities fees, the excess must be kept in the county's court facilities fund for use on court facilities in a future year. In addition, however, the county or municipality may, with the approval of the Administrative Officer of the Courts, use any or all of the excess for certain other purposes, including to retire outstanding indebtedness incurred in the construction of the facilities, or to supplement court operations.
In determining what comprises judicial facilities, the established custom and usage is that facilities for which a county is responsible include all the mechanical, electrical, and other components of a building that are normally installed and maintained by a builder, owner or landlord. In addition to the usual building features such as plumbing, HVAC, and electrical components, modern requirements include proper cabling for state of the art information technology.
AOC Services: While it is a county's duty to provide adequate facilities, the AOC is pleased to offer the assistance that it can. One statutory duty that the AOC has is to "investigate, make recommendations concerning, and assist in the securing of adequate physical accommodations for the General Court of Justice." G.S. 7A-343.
Although there are currently no architects or professional court facilities planners on staff, the AOC's Research and Planning office has developed expertise in the unique space and design requirements of court facilities. Upon request, we will conduct a court facility analysis that typically includes a preliminary assessment of the amount and quality of space actually being provided, compared to what is needed, based state and national standards for courthouses. Our analyses include projections of population, caseload, personnel, and space needs for some 20 years, and we can follow-up with on-site evaluations and by participating in the court-county committees that counties form to evaluate and plan facility needs. The AOC also provides similar services to assist counties in their duties to provide for court security, and for accessibility under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
An inadequate court facility can place enormous strain on the ability of the court system to administer justice in a timely, safe and proper manner. The AOC is sensitive to the fact that the provision of court facilities presents a significant cost to each county, and attempts to help the counties with the planning and analysis necessary to meet the needs of the citizens, in a facility for which the public can be proud.