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Judges and court administrators press for new juvenile court complex as case demands grow
Summary
Pinal County Superior Court leaders told supervisors they need a new juvenile court complex to handle rising caseload complexity, centralized services for children and families, and new statutory demands (jury rights and counsel in some family matters); preliminary facility planning estimates were discussed in a concurrent facilities briefing.
Judge Rudy Georgini, presiding judge of the Pinal County Superior Court, told supervisors the court is handling more complex cases and legislative changes that increase demands on courtroom space and services and asked the board to consider a new juvenile court complex as part of facility planning.
Georgini said the court has reoriented services to expand IT, self‑help and conciliation work, but that some new statutory and practice trends — such as expanded jury rights in certain probate and family matters and increased court‑appointed‑counsel expectations — create courtroom and security needs the existing facility does not meet. He described an effort to centralize services for children, arguing juvenile delinquency, dependency, guardianship and family cases involving children are best managed with co‑located social work, mediation, counseling and court staff.
Court administrators described current capacity: the existing Superior Court facility has 10 courtrooms capable of jury trials and six additional hearing rooms but is near capacity. The court proposed moving about 30% of operations to a new facility dedicated to juvenile and child‑involved family matters so that special services and detention adjacency could be centralized.
Judge Georgini and court staff emphasized that many modern court functions are virtual or handled through remote kiosks, but that jury trials and detained‑defendant appearances still require secure physical courtrooms. The proposed approach would maintain centralized services for trials while providing regionalized access for non‑trial assistance via remote tools and satellite service points.
During the work session the county’s facilities presentation placed a juvenile court complex on the justice campus adjacent to the juvenile detention center: a proposed three‑story, approximately 70,000‑square‑foot building with an estimated construction cost presented in the facilities briefing. County staff characterized costs and configuration as part of a set of six capital projects under consideration; exact bond amounts and final design were not yet finalized.
When asked about an earlier rough estimate for budgeting, the presiding judge said he had been told a bonding figure of roughly $35 million for a new facility, and the county’s court administrator confirmed that figure had been discussed during planning. Supervisors asked for detailed cost modeling and confirmed the project would be evaluated alongside other county capital needs and financing options.
No formal decision was made at the work session; judges and court administrators asked for the board to consider the juvenile court complex in the county’s long‑term capital plan and to provide funding guidance.
