Making up the court backlog will be a largely volunteer effort.

Judge Lance Day says it will take up to a month to make up for the three week shut-down we saw when both the new and old courthouses were closed.  And that means cases on every level have piled up.

“Not only the judges, but the State Attorney, the Public Defender, the staff in the Clerk’s Office- everybody has come together and said ‘If you need more help, we’ll do it’,” he says.

And that effort will largely be off the books.  I’ve spoken with Public Defender Matt Shirk who says judges will be volunteering their time to get caught-up and his staff will be offered some comp days to even out their time.  State Attorney Angela Corey said at the Courthouse Oversight Special Committee meeting Monday that her office doesn’t get overtime either.

Judge Day says there are many hours of work ahead.

“I have no idea the number, but it will be enough to get the job done,” he says.

The old courthouse will continue to operate the rest of this week, and Day says the building has already helped clear quite a few cases.  Once the new courthouse opens Monday, he says they will rely on a certain type of expedited hearing to take another dent out of the backlog while starting up full trials once again.

So was the effort worth the outcome?

Day says there are always things you wish you could change once you’ve moved in to a new building, but with this one there are remarkably few.  He says the open design will make those dealing with the courts as comfortable as possible, while also giving all parties involved in court proceedings a safe environment to work in.