A bill sponsored by Sen. David Woodsome, R-Waterboro, would provide a way for the York County District’s Attorney’s Office to build an office connected to the planned York County Judicial Center in Biddeford. TAMMY WELLS/Journal Tribune
BIDDEFORD – York County government officials have often said that having the York County District Attorney’s Office 12 miles away in Alfred when the new York County Judicial Center opens in Biddeford would outstrip any efficiencies gained by consolidating the county’s four courts.
But the new court, to be located on U.S. Route 1 between Five Points and the Maine Turnpike spur, on land the state purchased from the city of Biddeford, won’t have enough space to accommodate the district attorney, 16 assistant district attorneys and 24 support staff.
A bill sponsored by Sen. David Woodsome, R-Waterboro, is intended to solve the issue.
The bill, currently labeled as LR1158(01), would provide up to $6 million in Maine Government Facilities Authority securities to construct a building on the new courthouse lot, connected to the new court building. The county would pay the bonds. As well, the bill calls for the three district courthouses in Biddeford, Springvale and York to be turned over to the county, which the county could sell. The intent, according to the bill summary, is to be as cost-neutral to the parties as possible.
Attaching the District Attorney’s Office to the new courthouse “will increase the efficiency of the court system,” said Woodsome. “It’s just better.”
Both the current York County District Attorney Kathryn Slattery, and the former district attorney, Sen. Mark Lawrence, D-South Berwick, agree.
“Efficiency would be completely lost,” if the District Attorney’s Office were to remain in Alfred, said Slattery, “They tell me in Bangor, being a couple of minutes from the (Penobscot Judicial Center) presents difficulties.”
Slattery, who said she plans to testify in favor of the bill when a public hearing is scheduled, said the solution could be a model for other counties in similar circumstances.
“I really hope there is support behind (the bill) and the Legislature as a whole sees how important it is,” said Slattery.
Having the district attorney close to the courtroom, “is one of the most critical (components) to make the judicial system work,” said Lawrence. District attorney from 2003 to 2010, Lawrence noted that his former office deals with close to 15,000 cases a year.
“That is a new case every 10 minutes that the District Attorney’s Office is open,” Lawrence pointed out. “What a judge needs is a district attorney close, with quick access to the court.”
At one time, the District Attorney’s Office that prosecuted cases at the Maine District Court in Springvale was in an adjacent, separate building, and Lawrence pointed out, even that was sometimes difficult and resulted in delays.
In November 2016, a court site selection commission made up of legislators, law enforcement, attorneys, the judiciary and others chose the site on U.S. Route 1 in Biddeford for a new, consolidated York County Courthouse. The $65 million project will result in the closure of the three district courts in Biddeford, Springvale and York and the York County Superior Court, which sits at the county-owned courthouse in Alfred. There is no word on when ground will be broken for the project.
The proposal for a new building for the District Attorney’s Office attached to the new courthouse emerged after discussions between county government and the judiciary over the course of a year, said County Manager Greg Zinser of the bill.
“The bill being advanced by Sen. Woodsome seeks to mitigate all of the underlying concerns about the original courthouse bill,” said Zinser. “It provides the necessary space for the District Attorney’s Office to be located on the same lot.”
The bill’s lead sponsor in the House of Representatives is Anne-Marie Mastraccio, D-Sanford.
“It makes sense, they need to be close,” said Mastraccio of the prosecutors and support staff. She said the York County delegation “seems to be on board” with Woodsome’s bill.
In a related matter, Mastraccio said she plans to resubmit a bill heard last session that would form a committee to help decide what happens to the three district court buildings once the new consolidated courthouse is built.
Zinser said turning the three districts courts over to the county is a key component of the proposed legislation — because the county would sell them to pay the state bond.
“That is the exchange, to make it cost neutral for both parties,” said Zinser. “It’s all or nothing.”
— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 780-9016 or twells@journaltribune.com.
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