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<br />CASSCOUNTY <br />GOVERNMENT <br />..I.. <br /> <br />County <br />Coordinator <br /> <br />Bonnie Johnson <br /> <br />MEMO <br /> <br />TO: <br /> <br />Cass County Commission <br /> <br />FROM: <br /> <br />Bonnie Johnson <br /> <br />May 8, 2007 <br />SUBJECT: COURT REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL SPACE <br /> <br />DATE: <br /> <br />On May 7, 2007, I received the enclosed attachment from Rod Olson, District <br />Court Administrator. He delivered the letter to me in person and we talked <br />about the issues he addressed. <br /> <br />The request is for use of the Cass County Commission Room on Tuesday <br />mornings for jury assembly, or the use of the storage room on the second floor <br />of the Courthouse for the same purpose. The second request, (use of the <br />storage room), has already been addressed by the board. I am attaching a <br />copy of former Chairman Vern Bennett's letter regarding the storage room <br />request. <br /> <br />As for the County Commission Room, this is the only space available to all <br />offices located in the Courthouse for meeting purposes. I informed Mr. Olson <br />there would be significant disruption with using the room and the waiting area <br />because the county administrative offices open directly to that area. <br /> <br />Another issue to consider is that four to five times per year, the Commission <br />holds their meetings on Tuesday because of certain legal holidays falling on a <br />Monday. <br /> <br />Mr. Olson indicated he was in the process of changing how jurors are to be <br />summoned for various trials. In the past, jurors were summoned to the actual <br />courtroom where the case was to be heard. However, in the proposed system <br />all jurors for every trial would be summoned to the jury assembly room. <br /> <br />Since the new process didn't sound like it fit well with the existing space, I <br />discussed several options with Mr. Olson: 1) Keep the current style of jury <br />selection until additional space is available with new construction; 2) Use the <br />court scheduling calendar to secure the same courtroom space each and <br />every Tuesday for their jury selection process. Currently, there are eight <br />courtrooms available to the District Court. <br /> <br />Box 2806 The court, like many county offices, is in need of additional space. County <br />211 Ninth Street South offices currently function in spaces that are allocated to them, despite their <br />Fargo, North Dakota 58108 need for more room. I am hoping the court will reconsider their request and <br />work within their own system if they wish to implement changes to the jury <br />701-241-5720 selection system. <br />Fax: 701-297-6020 <br /> <br />K:\BJ\DISTRICT COURT 5-8-07MEMO.doc <br />