Facing doubled family court load, York Co. agrees to spend $1.5M more on new building

The York County Council signed off Monday on adding $1.5 million to the plan to construct a new Family Court building in Rock Hill.

The motion was approved 6-1, with Council member Christi Cox in dissent.

The new upgrades are expected to provide enough courtroom space for a future backlog of cases to Family Court dockets because of a South Carolina law passed earlier this year. The law directs accused 17-year-old offenders to Family Court, instead of Circuit Court.

16th Circuit Solicitor Kevin Brackett told the York County Council last month that the new law would raise the age at which juveniles can be tried as adults to 18, from the current 17.

He said the law, which was approved by the General Assembly earlier this year and would go into effect in 2019, could double the case load in Family Court.

Brackett, in a letter sent to council, said the additions to the court building, which involve finishing more space in the building than previously planned, will help taxpayers save money and account for inevitable growth.

In the letter, Brackett described tracking criminal justice data as “akin to trying to count fleas in a barnyard.”

The solicitor said that in 2015-16, General Sessions court has seen a 25 percent increase in cases. Brackett said he believed the costs would be cheaper to address now rather than waiting for a later time and potentially disrupting the work environment of the court.

The $21 million court building is planned on county property behind the Heckle Boulevard county office complex in Rock Hill, with a second entrance off West Main Street.

The 75,000-square-foot building will need more office and courtroom space when it opens to handle the additional case load.

The new building was part of an $89.8 million York County bond package approved by voters last year. It is scheduled to open in the fall of 2018.

This story was originally published October 4, 2016 at 10:28 AM with the headline "Facing doubled family court load, York Co. agrees to spend $1.5M more on new building."