Warren County Justice Court civil clerks Bridget Purvis, left, and Denise Bailey pack up office equipment Wednesday in preparation for the court’s move to 921 Farmer St. (The Vicksburg Post/C. Todd Sherman)

[08/22/02]Warren County Justice Court was adjourned for the last time in its current building Wednesday and will convene Monday in its new home three blocks away.

The court, now at 1019 Adams, is moving two blocks east and one block north, to 921 Farmer. Court-related business such as accepting fine payments will continue in the Adams Street building until 5 p.m. Friday, then resume in the Farmer Street building Monday morning. Any court hearings set for today and Friday were rescheduled, court officials said.

“We don’t anticipate any delay in services whatsoever,” county controller Susan Keys said. “It’s very important that we keep the doors open with justice court you never know when someone may be coming from somewhere else to pay a fine.”

Justice court can handle any county case, civil or criminal, involving potential damages or penalties of up to $2,500. Its judges are elected, one from each of three county districts, North, Central and South.

The county government purchased the court’s new home in November for $142,500 and hired Ergon Maintenance Services to renovate it at a cost of $40,428, records show. The move is requiring little or no cash since it is being done by employees and trusties from the Warren County Jail, Keys said.

On Wednesday, boxes and file cabinets were being rolled out of the high-ceilinged, two-story building across Adams Street from the Warren County Courthouse and into the more-modern-looking, one-story building three blocks away.

While the court is moving into a smaller structure, Board of Supervisors President Richard George said it is losing little or no usable floor area and is gaining better public access and safety, energy efficiency and the option to expand if necessary.

South District Judge Joe Crevitt disagrees and said again Wednesday the building will probably need an addition as soon as the court moves in.

“I hope it’ll all work,” Crevitt said. “I don’t know where we’re going to put everything.”

And Crevitt said, based on predictions of a raise by the Legislature in the maximum value of justice court cases, he expects the court’s caseload to require more space in the next two years.

“We’ve been told to be ready for it,” Crevitt said. “Why don’t (supervisors) go ahead and do it while they’ve got the opportunity? We could make one move and be done with it.”

“We’ve indicated all along we would do that if necessary and we can afford it,” George responded.

Crevitt said by his calculations the new building, at 3,744 square feet, is 1,738 square feet smaller than the old building.

George said the board’s estimates of usable square feet shows the new building, at 2,730, to have slightly more than the old, at 2,710.

North District Judge Richard Smith said he thought the move was needed and called it an “upgrade” overall.

“My interest is in the courtroom,” Smith said, “and I think (the courtroom) will be much better.”

The board has announced no plans for the Adams Street building, a former home and private law office that the county bought about 20 years ago.

“We’re looking at several options,” George said. “We will probably end up making use of that building since we can’t do anything else with it.”

George said it and the old building to its immediate north are designated historic structures.