St. Mary’s County approves $217,000 from reserve for courtroom renovation after judge warns of backlog

The Commissioners of St. Mary’s County on May 6 approved a $217,000 transfer from county capital reserves to renovate courthouse space to create an additional courtroom and related office space.

Judge Joseph Stanelones, administrative judge for the Circuit Court for St. Mary’s County, told commissioners that the court’s workload has increased in ways not fully captured by statewide methodology used to approve new judgeships. “This request is to put a tourniquet on a gaping bleeding wound,” he said, arguing the extra courtroom would help manage a backlog of contested criminal jury trials and family merits hearings.

Stanelones and a recorded excerpt of the chief justice’s presentation explained that jury trials in St. Mary’s County rose sharply: contested criminal jury trials were 261% higher in calendar-year 2024 than in 2019, while family law merits hearings increased about 62% over the same period. The judge said those increases consume court time because trials and merits hearings require many hours that cannot be scheduled into the standard docketing model; he described judges starting court earlier, working through lunch and staying late to keep cases moving.

County administrator David Weiskopf introduced the budget transfer item as a request to move $217,000 from the county capital reserve to fund renovation work that would convert existing space into an additional courtroom and provide office support; $113,000 of the requested funds represented operating-salary savings the administrator said would revert to fund balance at fiscal year end, reducing the effective one-time cost to $104,000.

Commissioners asked about the number of judges on the bench and timelines to fill an existing vacancy. The judge explained the county is authorized for three judgeships (one position was vacant following the unexpected death of a judge) and said this request would move the authorized complement from three to four judgeships; the judiciary has petitioned the legislature for a fourth judgeship but the request was not approved in the most recent session. He described temporary reliance on senior/visiting judges and said senior judges alone could not cover the court’s full calendar.

Commissioners also queried security and bailiff needs related to an additional courtroom; Stanelones said he requested funding for a bailiff and expected to coordinate with the sheriff’s office on law-enforcement presence. He estimated the additional bailiff cost would be limited because the courtroom would not be filled every day.

After discussion about courtroom scheduling, senior-judge availability and security coverage, the commission approved the transfer and authorized the commission president to sign related documents. The motion directed that $217,000 be transferred from the county’s capital reserve to fund the renovation, with understanding that $113,000 in operating salary savings would revert to fund balance at fiscal year end, leaving an effective net need of $104,000 for renovation and related costs.

County staff said renovation work will proceed under county procurement rules and that implementation details and timelines will be provided to the commission as plans are finalized. Judge Stanelones reiterated that adding courtroom capacity is intended to relieve extreme calendar pressure and to allow civil and family dockets to proceed without repeatedly bumping cases for criminal speedy-trial requirements.