A budget-saving move at Marin County Superior Court could also be an antidote to perniciously long courthouse security lines.
The court started this week trying out staggered start times for its courtrooms — some morning calendars start at 8:30 a.m. now, some at 9 and some at 9:30.
“We’ve been strategizing in this very difficult, perilous budget year on how we can try to use all of our budget resources more efficiently,” said Kim Turner, the court’s executive officer.
The idea is to be more strategic about covering assignments, rather than having bailiffs, court reporters and interpreters in all courtrooms starting at the same time. The court hopes in this way that it can use fewer resources to cover the same departments.
“This is going to be a bit of a change” for the legal community, Turner said, but she hasn’t heard any grumbling so far: “Usually the grumbling is the first thing you hear, so we’ll take this as a victory.”
The change doesn’t affect the afternoon calendar, which still starts at 1:30, so attorneys can still count on the post-lunch rush to make them late.
— Kate Moser
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