By: Laura Ginsberg

With increased security, added space and state-of-the-art amenities, the new Texas County Justice Center is designed to better serve residents of Missouri's 25^th Judicial Circuit.

The new facility was dedicated Nov. 1 and allows for all the county's court functions to be housed in one location, just blocks from the old Texas County Courthouse on Grand Avenue.

In the past, several county offices had to be housed in a building separate from the courthouse, such as the prosecuting attorney's office, juvenile division and public administrator's office. The new facility not only includes space for these offices, but more meeting areas, rooms for trials and hearings, and a much larger jail.

"It's a substantial piece of property," said Texas County attorney Katie Anderson, of Anderson Law Offices in Houston. "As far as the public is concerned, it's much more user friendly."

The Texas County Justice Center houses two courtrooms for jury trials and a smaller room for hearings, which also is large enough to accommodate a jury if needed. This is an improvement over the old courthouse, which had just one room large enough for a jury trial and one small hearing room.

"More room will allow for more immediate hearings and trials," Texas County Circuit Clerk Phyllis Staley said.

The new courtrooms are more spacious, include electrical outlets in the council tables and are equipped with projectors and projection screens that pull down from the ceiling.

"It's beautiful," Anderson said of the new facility. "Everything is modern."

Attorneys also will benefit from the addition of a law library, which was removed from the old courthouse to create more office space. The library contains law books and resources and includes a computer terminal with access to a computer-assisted legal research program.

"That is a huge advantage for attorneys," Anderson said.

Offices housed in the Texas County Justice Center are larger than in the old courthouse and are protected by improved security features, such as key-code entries and reception areas that separate county workers from courthouse visitors. The property also is protected by metal detectors and 24-hour video surveillance.

"The property has great security features, and the extra room allows us to better serve customers and is more comfortable for visitors," Staley said.

The new facility also offers meeting spaces for attorneys and clients, office space for judges, two holding cells for prisoners waiting to appear before the court and a meeting room for attorneys and clients who currently are in jail.

The new jail located in the Texas County Justice Center also is much larger, with the capacity to house 75 prisoners, up from only 25 prisoners in the old courthouse.

Finally, the facility offers much more space for parking, which will benefit county employees, courthouse visitors and those serving on a jury.