Beltrami County Unveils New Courtroom

Beltrami County has officially added a 4^th courtroom to its judicial building in Bemidji. The Beltrami County Judicial Building was built 15 years ago, but even then, officials knew they would need an extra room for future expansion.

“After the governor’s appointment of our prior county attorney, Annie Claesson-Huseby, then Beltrami County was assigned four judges, so that the reason we built this courtroom out,” says Beltrami County Administrator Kay Mack.

The full project cost $515,000, with the technology alone costing $130,000. The courtroom has the same feel and aesthetics as the other courtrooms housed in the building. The project was fully completed last month, but the renovation started last year.

“We started doing design work around August, and we continued on and then obviously, the design work involved quite a few state officials: the judges, the court administration, county staff,” says Steve Shadrick, facilities manager and safety coordinator for Beltrami County.

Actual construction in the courtroom started in early December. The technology seen all around the room was provided to make the trial process run as smoothly as possible.

“When we build the courtrooms, we’re really trying to be responsive to the technological improvements that keep coming for the juries, for the attorneys, for judges, for the hearing impaired,” says Mack.

Shadrick adds, “A lot of monitors. Different monitors in different positions to allow the defendant, the witness, judge, everybody in the courtroom, the jurors to be able to accurately see the evidence.”

The added technology also makes it easier keep everything organized before it’s sent to the state.

“It has all of the amps and audio equipment, video equipment, and it also ties to the state for their Internet lines and video to the state of Minnesota,” says Ron Pula, network administrator for Beltrami County.

Another important feature of any courtroom is making sure it’s safe, and this one was no exception.

“We have a number of security features, as with all the courtrooms within the building, and so we wanted to stay consistent on all the safety and security features, and so we even added some additional features to this courtroom,” says Shadrick.

Beltrami County’s newest appointed judge is reportedly already using the new courtroom.